


The Quarantine in the Year

by silentlsworld



Category: Bones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Light Angst, POV Third Person, Sad with a Happy Ending, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 24,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27909880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentlsworld/pseuds/silentlsworld
Summary: They’ve been through everything together and have survived. Getting shot at, blown up, stabbed, and even a few close calls at death’s front door. When a deadly pandemic hits, will it be what tears this family apart? Love and friendship are tested. Patience will be a virtue indeed.Brennan and Booth find themselves and their marriage tested in ways they never dared to dream. Hodgins and Angela have to learn to lean on each other more than ever before. Cam and Arastoo learn the true meaning of family and that family means no one gets left behind.When death and disaster come knocking on their doors will the FBI-Jeffersonian squad make it through their worst nightmares?
Relationships: Camille Saroyan/Arastoo Vaziri, Jack Hodgins/Angela Montenegro, Seeley Booth/Temperance Brennan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the Bones characters, that is all HH. The only thing I own is my imagination. 
> 
> A/N: Hello! Hello! This is my first go at publicizing my writing. I was on Tumblr and @writerwithfluffysocks made a post about our beloved Bones squad in quarantine and I thought why not put the muse to the test? I hope you enjoy it!

“JACK HODGINS! Don’t you dare!”

“But Angie, you know that with the Mass Spec I have here, I’d be able to help break down the particulars, play around with some samples-”

“NO Jack! Uh-uh. NO. You are not bringing a deadly disease/virus into our home just so you can play Dr. Jekyll.”

“But-”

“No buts Jack. Uh-uh. Maybe when the Jeffersonian reopens you can get in contact with the Virology Department at Georgetown. And even then! Even then, that is a hard maybe.” Angela shook her head walking away. Jack sat there in his wheelchair looking disgruntled but as he kept thinking, he realized his wife was right. Sighing in defeat, he rolled away going to find Michael Vincent and their daughter, Katherine Temperance. Hearing their giggles throughout the hallway, he figured they were in the media room watching reruns of the Flintstones.

Angela shook her head as she walked into the kitchen. Jack had some nerve and always managed to shake her up beyond belief sometimes. She picked up the phone with the intention of calling her best friend. It had been four months since she had seen Brennan and while she knew it was for the best to keep them, their families, and everyone around them safe, she still missed her still socially awkward best friend and their girl time.

* * *

Brennan walked into the kitchen absolutely drained. Christine and Hank had been at again and she had just about had enough of her children’s bickering. At just three years younger than his sister, Hank was even more energetic and had pent up, what Booth called, “chaotic energy”. He often found himself overwhelming his sister or getting them both in trouble. It was only 11 am but she went ahead and opened the cabinet pulled out the new bottle of wine Booth had bought yesterday when he went grocery shopping. Pouring herself a glass, she looked out the window above the sink. Booth was in the backyard working on setting up a treehouse for the kids after they had spent an entire month begging for one. Christine, so she could have a place to escape Hank for a bit, and Hank so he could have his own ‘Ninja Turtle’ hideaway.

The phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, she smiled.

“Hey Ange, how’s it going?”

“Oh, sweetie! I am going to kill my husband.” Angela exclaimed.

“Why? Not that you wouldn’t get away with it. I mean we both could get away with murder. However, judging from the last time you called and said Hodgins had been finding creative ways to sexually satisfy you even with the kids at home, I can only conclude that you are being sarcastic.”

Angela chuckled. God, she missed Bren so much.

“Yes, sweetie. I’m kidding but he was talking again about trying to contact one of his colleagues in the Virology Department at Georgetown to try and get samples of the virus strain and poke and prod it with some tests. Says he could help figure out a vaccine.”

“Oh. He might Ange. But-”

“Bren not you too! It’s dangerous! And with Katherine being in and out the hospital right now-”

“I know Ange.” Brennan interrupted. “I was going to say that I understand your hesitance and fear. I understand it from both points but you’re right. Being in and out of a hospital right now does put you and Katherine at a higher risk of exposure. How is she by the way?”

“She’s hanging in there. The doctors have given her special corrective glasses to help right now,” Angela sighed.

“They still don’t know if it in fact LCA?” Brennan questioned. Her heart going out to her best friend. Metaphorically of course.

“No. That’s the thing, they don’t. They have no idea what it is and it-it… it’s just really frustrating sweetie.”

“I’m sorry Ange. I really am. I wish I could embrace you and be there for you during this time of extreme emotional distress.”

“You are sweetie. Just being here talking to me on the phone is enough for now. Thank you.”

“Of course. I’m always going to be here supporting Ange. Always.”

Angela smiled as Brennan spoke. Her best friend had really come a long way. It felt like it was just yesterday she was forcing Bren out of the lab to go with her to a club and like fate, they had stumbled upon a dead body mummified within the club walls. She was just about to remind Brennan when she heard a shriek on the other line.

“MOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM HANK IS AT IT AGGAAAAAIIIIIIIINN! HANK NOOOOOOO!” Christine shouted so loudly Booth came tumbling inside, hammer still in hand.

“Ange, I’m sorry to cut this short but my children are being extremely difficult, and I swear I’m going to metaphorically explode if I have to separate them again.” Brennan huffed.

“It’s okay. Believe me, Hank and Christine are a duo and with both inside at the same time during quarantine. Let’s just say I’m glad I’m not you.” Angela joked trying to ease Brennan. It worked.

“Ha-ha, I can imagine you are. I’ll call you back Ange. Tell Hodgins and the kids hello for me.”

“Will do. Bye Bren.”

“Bye Ange.”

“Bones.” Booth huffed confused. “What’s going on?”

“Our children have been very dedicated to breaking the laws of physics with their antics today Booth and I’ve just about had it trying to talk to them.”

Placing the hammer on the floor by the door, Booth walked over to his wife. He could see the energy had dissipated from her eyes and the half-drunk glass of wine on the counter confirmed it.  
“Bones let me talk to them. Top off your glass and go take a bath. Take some time for yourself, I’ll deal with our tyrant children.”

“Booth, are you sure? They’re both the exact same level of cranky and intolerable now.”

“Yes. Go. I’m their father. The load to discipline doesn’t only fall on your shoulders.” Booth confirmed. Smiling Brennan hugged her husband giving a quick kiss.

“I’ll thank you later,” she smirked up at him. Booth chuckled as she quickly topped off her wine and grabbed the book that she had hastily discarded on the couch walking into their room.

“HANK!” Christine's shriek filled the house again.

“Christine Angela Booth! You know how your mother feels about yelling the house.” Booth chastised his daughter walking down the hall to their room. He thought he would be dealing with another case of Hank either going through Christine’s journal or using her dolls as plungers. What he didn’t know was that he wouldn’t be prepared for the disaster he was about to walk into.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own any of the Bones characters, that's all HH. 
> 
> A/N: We kick off this chapter at the Saroyan/Vaziri household and then back to the Booth-Brennan household for a brief minute. Don't worry, we'll get more B/B next chapter. I'm still trying to figure out how to best separate the chapters.

Cam sighed as she walked into the living room. She could hear her sons’ laughter as well as her husband's. The thought of her family eased her worked up nerves. She loved the little family she had created. Though Michelle was now in training at Quantico which meant a busy schedule, she still came home time to time and got along well with her brothers. The boys had even settled in amazingly. Granted, it took some time for all three of them to get used to the home and it had shocked them that would all be able to stay together so that made the first few mornings emotional when they saw each other at breakfast. All in all, they had become quite the little family and the boys had such a great impact on their lives.

“Isaiah! Yeah! Do it!” Tyler encouraged.

“Wait boys! I-I-don’t think-” Arastoo’s voice was drowned out as a ‘pop-pop’ was heard.

Running to see if anyone was hurt, Cam stopped short staring at the mini volcano that was sitting on her very expensive chenille rug and had just recently erupted.

“What-What is going on?”

Model airplanes and Hum Vs sat scattered around the floor along with mini soldiers lined up ready for battle. Isaiah sat with his arms covered in a mixture of red and orange food dye and Tyler had it in his hair. Cameron sat to the other side finishing up another Hum V model with a goofy grin on his face twinning the one on his father’s. Arastoo beamed at his boys. The fact that he had not one but three sons to play with and experiment with gave him so much joy.

“THAT WAS AWESOME!” he laughed out.

“Oh really, guess we know who’s going to clean my rug.” Cam muttered before shaking her head. She turned and walked away into the kitchen to grab a wine, a beer, a double scotch, anything to keep her mind off her rug that would more than likely stain and the fact that all four of her boys had the same maturity level.

“Hey Dad, is Mom angry?” Tyler asked a little worried he’d upset his mom.

“She’s probably only a little upset. Don’t worry about it. I’ll go talk to her.”

“Quarantine really has had her on edge huh Dad.” Cameron contributed.

“Yeah, you got that right son. I’ll be back. In the meantime, how about we try to focus on building the boats instead of testing if the volcano works?” Arastoo stood up and walked into the kitchen and found Cam leaning over the counter, head bowed and body tense.

“Hey, Cam. Babe talk to me. What’s wrong?”

Sniffling Cam looked up, “Felicia. She-she-”

“Hey, it’s okay. Calm down. I’m right here.” Arastoo reassured her and rubbed his hands up and down her back the way she loved. She had once told him that if she was ever upset beyond words, that helped her to calm down. Cam looked up and smiled at her husband before taking a deep breath continuing.

“Geor-George called me. He said that Felicia was at work. You know how instead of having everyone work at home, her office decided to take shifts. Well, it was her week and apparently someone in the office failed to tell them that-that-”

“Oh no. Cam…”

“She’s tested positive Arastoo. George said that he had to rush her to the hospital. It-it-it’s not looking good right now. The doctors are doing what they can, but they told George that the next twenty-four hours could be life or death for her.” Cam broke at that point and turned to bury her face in Arastoo’s chest. Not knowing what else to do, Arastoo held his wife with everything in him.

“Shhh. Cam breathe my love. It’ll be okay. She has to be. In Allah’s name, she will be.”

“You-you-you can’t know for sure Arastoo and we-we were just starting to have a really great-really great relationship.” Cam hiccupped.

“Yes, I can Cam. Trust me. Felicia is a fighter. She’ll be okay.”

“Mom? Are you okay?” Isaiah poked his head into the kitchen followed by Tyler and Cameron.

“We’re sorry that we erupted the volcano over the rug. We’ll clean it up.” Tyler offered.

“Oh boys. It’s not you I’m upset at. Come over here.”

The boys walked over to their Mom and engulfed her in one big hug. Cam closed her eyes holding her boys to her. She never thought she would ever become a mother and then Michelle came into her and she was beyond grateful and once again thought that would be it. But then, she married Arastoo and worried he would be upset at her not wanting to get pregnant but then he mentioned adoption and she was on board especially when Brennan had connected them with a foster care facility in Mississippi which connected them to their three boys. She held them to her like her life depending on it and right now, the strength and reassurance of family was what she needed most.

* * *

_Back at the Booth-Brennan household…_

Booth could hear his son’s giggles and what sounded like Christine muttering to herself. He opened and his eyes went wide, and he had to try his best to not laugh at the sight in front of him. Hank had apparently gotten hold of the baby powder he had bought yesterday and stored in the bathroom cabinet. Even though he and Christine were already eight and eleven years old respectively, Brenna still purchased baby powder for them regularly to use after showers and baths. It helped them stay fresh and prevented chaffing which was always a plus. Hank had other ideas of its use though. The two entire jumbo containers had exploded over Christine’s room. Her floor was drenched in powder and Hank was currently in it making a snow angle. Christine had powder stacked on top of her head that looked like it had been dolloped there like whip cream on a cupcake. He chuckled involuntarily.

“Dad! Look! I made Christmas!” Hank shouted from his spot on the floor. He was drenched in it and looked like Casper the friendly ghost.

“DAD!” Christine whined.

“Okay-okay-okay!” Booth chuckled again. Bones would have lost it and blown her top he thought.

“It’s not funny Dad! This is like the third time this week Hank’s come in here and wreaked havoc.” Christine stared at her father indignantly. A stare she had inherited from her mother and it didn’t help that she had the same blue eyes. Just before lockdown, Angela had come over with Katherine and Brennan and Christine and they had a girl’s day lounging around the house. There had been a lull in cases for the FBI-Jeffersonian duo and so the women decided to take the day off together. It was then Angela had offered to cut Christine’s hair giving the little girl bangs. She looked so much like her Mom did when she first returned from Maluku and was the spitting image of Temperance Brennan right now as she stood with her hands on her hips, lips pouting, and eyes narrowed.

“Okay. Hank, why did you want to make Christmas?” Booth tried to reason with his son.

“Because I’m bored and Christmas time means fun in the snow and then Auntie Angela and Uncle Hodgy comes over and we get together with the whole family and go see the lights and then-and then we won’t be stuck in the house by ourselves.”

Booth sighed. He had figured Hank’s restlessness was because of being in quarantine but they couldn’t help. When the news had broken that the virus had spread across the country, he and Aubrey as SSAs had made the executive decision to leave the division under Aubrey’s control so Booth could be home with his family. He had offered to consult with Aubrey virtually if needed along with Brennan. Brennan had immediately decided that she would stay with her children at home. Jessica and the other interns would keep the lab running on their quarantine schedule. Brennan would consult with them virtually as needed and would grade their papers, supervise their dissertations and identifications from home.

Though taking classes virtually, Christine and Hank visibly missed routine. Hank especially missed going to school and running around interacting with his friends. With nowhere to really release his energy, Christine had been on the receiving end for the past four months, and right now, he could see his daughter was about to combust from frustration.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Characters = not me but HH. 
> 
> A/N: We're back at the B/B house and my muse got away from me so this was the result. Yeah, it got a little angsty but tbh, I wanted to try and capture their situations as best as I could for the times they're living through making the story real. I know we're all looking for an escape but I also think it's important to try and keep stories real, ya know? For us to draw comfort from our favorite characters living through what we do, so we can feel less alone. Okay. Okay. Enough ramblings, this chapter is long enough. Enjoy!

Booth looked at his son and his heart melted just a little. He knew Hank meant no harm, but he also knew he had to try to explain to Hank why it wasn’t okay to explode powder all over his sister’s room.

“Okay, bub but I don’t think turning your sister’s room into a winter wonderland was necessary was it?”

Hank stopped and looked at his sister who gave him the Brennan stare.

“No. But I wanted Chrissy to play with me.”

“Hank, you just had to ask. I was almost finished with my ballet practice anyways.” Christine shook her head. “You didn’t have to explode powder all over my room.”

“I’m sorry.” Hank apologized. Before he could think twice about his actions, he got up and engulfed Christine in one big Casper hug.

“Oooooo! Haaaaannnkkk!” Christine squealed.

“Okay. Okay. Let’s go tiger. Bath time for you.” Booth pulled his son and sent him to the bathroom. Little puffs of powder dropping on the floor as he went.

“Chrissy, I need your help to clean up. Mom’s in the bath right now trying to relax and I don’t want her coming in here finding this mess.”

“Or else she’s gonna be mad…” Christine finished.

“Exactly. Try your best to scoop the powder in one corner and shake it off you. The good thing is it’s not on the bed or rug so it’ll be easy. When I’m done with Hank, you can go take a shower.”

“But what if Hank comes back in Dad? I love him but he’s been getting on my last nerve lately.” Christine huffed.

“That’s where I come in angel. I’ll send him to go take a nap. Then while you’re in the shower I’ll finish cleaning up okay.”

“Okay…”

“Good. Thanks, Chrissy.” Booth hugged his daughter and walked into the bathroom to deal with his son. The whole ordeal took about thirty minutes. Telling Hank that he had to stop acting out with his sister and instead use his words to ask her to play and spend time with him. Christine gathering the sno- the powder in one corner and then off to shower herself while Hank went to take a mandatory nap and Booth to clean up the floor. By the time Christine had finished, Booth was all done. He told Christine that she could either go watch TV outside or spend time in her room, Christine opting for the former because she had seen last week that there would be a Rainbow Rangers marathon this week and it was only so often, she got to binge watch mindless TV.

Booth satisfied that he had solved the crisis before Brennan could walk in went to go check on her. He found that Brennan had taken his advice. She was chin deep in water with bubbles rising up to the edge. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun and her wine glass sat on the edge of the tub almost finished. The book she had been reading was sitting on bathmat opened faced down to where she had probably been reading before falling asleep. He smiled. It was moments like these that made him eternally grateful he and Brennan had found each other. It hadn’t been easy and even when they tied the knot officially, there had been bumps in the road but looking at his wife, her face make-up free and for the first time in a while stress free, he wouldn’t trade it for anything. Despite their arguments like the one they had last night, he would always love and cherish her. He had once told Brennan that his life with her and the kids was better than any hand he could ever be dealt, and he meant it. Then, now and always. Through the good and bad.

* * *

Brennan had fallen asleep halfway through reading her book. Not that she was bored, she was just exhausted. Spending all day helping her children with school and then trying to entertain when needed had knocked her out. She loved her children no doubt and was grateful she and Booth had been able to be home with them during this time. As a scientist, she knew it would take time to find a vaccine and a long-term effective way to fight back against the virus but as a mom, she wished they would hurry so her children and her could get back into a routine.

If she were honest though, she was extremely grateful that Booth was with her during this time. He had been such a great help with the children and with her. Granted, there were times their bickering had blown up a little more than usual but being the same space 24/7 for about four months, what could they have expected? She didn’t love him any less though in fact she loved him even more that he had been willing to work out most of their arguments and that he tried to ensure their children were out of earshot when they did. Last night, however, had been a little rougher than she would like to admit.

_They had just finished dinner and were washing the dishes and putting them away. Brennan’s phone rang and she had left to go and answer the call. It was Russ._

_“Hey, Tempe.”_

_“Hey, Russ. Are you okay? You sound… something.” Brennan asked._

_“Yeah um. Listen, I just want to let you know that Haley is back in the hospital. It’s not the virus so don’t worry but man, Tempe… Amy and I are scared like dead scared.”_

_“Oh no. Russ, I am so sorry. What can I do?”_

_“Well, pre-world-going-up-in-flames era, I would have asked you to fly out here to be with us. You, Booth, and the kids ya know? Have family around. I mean with Dad and Mom not here, we’re all we got._

_"But…”_

_“Yeah. I know, Russ. We can’t. I mean we could technically but that would just put Haley at an even greater risk.”_

_“Yeah… listen I don’t know why I called. I don’t wanna worry you I mean you have your own family drama. I guess… Tempe I don’t know what to do.”_

_“No Russ. We are a family. All of us. Our family isn’t an isolated unit because we live in separate homes.”_

_Russ smiled. “Thanks Tempe. Do you-do you think we could just talk for a couple minutes? I also miss my sister.”_

_“Of course, Russ. Tell me everything that’s been going on.”_

_The siblings sat on the phone for a couple more minutes filling each other in on their lives. With each minute that passed, Brennan’s anxiety and distress seemed to heighten. Russ had fallen into some pretty tough times. He had started up his own mechanic company and things had been going steady until the pandemic hit and his business took a deep dive. He was still able to do a couple odd jobs here and there but with the rate the trade was plunging, he and his family had been living paycheck to paycheck literally. Brennan had offered to help financially knowing that she was in a place to do so without fear of her own family’s financial position. After a couple of convincing words, Russ had accepted the help._

_“Well, it’s getting late Tempe and Amy and I need to drive over to the hospital. They’re only letting one of us in at a time but it’s a family affair ya know?”_

_“I know, Russ. I do. Give Amy my regards and pass my love to the girls. Oh! I’ll also get in touch with Dr. Goetz. He was the doctor I connected Amy to years ago when you were a fugitive.”_

_“You of course gotta bring up our twisted past huh?” Russ joked._

_“Well, as seeing that I went on the run myself evading arrest, it’s confirmed. Our family is one of fugitives.” Brennan laughed at the absurd reality that was the Brennan family._

_“Mom and Dad would be proud.”_

_Brennan threw her head back laughing, “Yeah. They really would. Especially Dad. I miss him, Russ.”_

_“Me too, Tempe. Me too.”_

_A few moments of silence passed before Brennan broke it._

_“I’ll let you go, Russ. I love you.”_

_“Love ya too, Tempe. Thank you.”_

_“You’re welcome, Russ.”_

Ending the call, Brennan closed her eyes sighing. The universe had had a knack for breaking people this year and while she hoped - something she rarely did which proved her desperation – nothing happened to her family, here they were. She stood up and walked outside. Christine and Hank’s raised voices could be heard. She walked in to find them grumbling over the remote and something in her snapped.

“Both of you enough! NOW! Put that down and go to bed.”

Resounding Mom and Bones echoed in response. Temperance Brennan never raised her voice at her children. Never.

“NO! I do not want to hear it. You both have no idea how lucky you are to be here, safe at home where your biggest worry is fighting for the television remote in an effort to watch a mindless show. Go. Bed. Now.”

She walked over, picked up the remote from where the kids had dropped it and shooed them without another word.

“Whoa, Bones what’s going on?” Booth questioned. “You never raise your voice at them.”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything. But seriously Booth. Arguing over the TV? Do they have any idea how lucky they are to even be able to just relax and watch TV?”

“Bones, baby, where is this coming from?” Booth walked over to his wife concerned.

“What do you mean where? Do you not think that our children should know how lucky they are? You’re the one that believes in a religion focused on blessings and counting them.”

“Wait Bones now this is just unfair. Why are you attacking me?”

“I’m not attacking you, Booth.”

“Verbally attacking, accusing. Whatever you’re doing right now counts.”

“And what exactly am I doing?”

“Bones listen, I don’t want to argue. Who was it on the phone?”

“Neither do I Booth. Just… it’s nothing Booth.” Brennan squeezed past her husband who was now standing directly in front of her.

“Bones come on. Don’t shut me out.” Booth reached for her hand, but she pulled away.

“No Booth. Not now.”

“Bones…”

“Just leave it Booth! God, do you need to run after me so much?”

“Oh God. Here we go again. Well, excuse me if I care about my wife and want to be there for her. I’m gonna help our children into bed. You remember, the same ones who chased away with no explanation whatsoever. Good night Bones.” Booth walked off leaving Brennan standing in the living room. She had apologized to her children when they all woke up for breakfast and while she and Booth were polite with each other, the air was still buzzing with tension. Which is why he ended up in the backyard working most of the day.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! Sorry it took me a while to get this chapter up. I was trying to figure out how to move with it and honestly, it just wasn't happening. Anyways, this is just a little short filler if you will. We have a brief moment at the B/B house and then a little fluff piece at the Montenegro-Hodgins household. 
> 
> Disclaimer: Do I need to do this every time? Eh, Bones characters aren't mine. Simply just borrowing them for this story.

Crouching down, Booth brushed a few strands of hair that had fallen into his wife’s face. Sensing Booth’s presence, Brennan opened her eyes.

“Hey.” She whispered.

“Hi beautiful.”

“Booth.” Brennan whined but blushed at the compliment. “Are you still angry?” she asked.

“Are you still impervious?”

Chuckled she shook her head and leaned against the edge of the tub. “I haven’t been impervious for quite some time now. But seriously Booth, are you?”

“Angry at you? No Bones. Yeah, I got upset last night but I could never stay angry at you for long.”

“Good. I’m sorry, Booth. It was never my intention to push you away like that. I…”

“Hey, it’s okay. It really is. But how about you tell me what’s going on? I can see it in your eyes that you’re still upset.”

“Okay but first I’d like to get out of the tub and change and. Why do you smell like baby powder? Hank and Christine, are they okay?” Brennan scrunched up her nose and eyebrows.

“They’re fine Bones. Really. They both showered off. Hank is taking a nap and Christine is getting some much-needed alone time outside watching TV. I can’t say the same for the bottles of baby powder though.” Booth stood up and grabbed Brennan’s towel holding it out for her.

Unplugging the drain stopper, Brennan stood up still a bit confused and then realization dawned on her.

“Oh no. Booth you don’t mean…”

“Yeah Bones, it was a winter wonderland but don’t worry I cleaned it up and spoke to both of them. You may want to check in with Hank though. The little tiger is really restless.”

“I can only imagine. He’s used to being around much more people and having a routine that doesn’t make the weeks seem like one big time blob.”

Booth smiled at the way his wife just casually spoke of ‘time blobs’. Once upon a time ago, she would have gone into great detail about time and the science and whatnot of it. Looking at Booth, Brennan raised her brows.

“What Booth?”

“Nothing. Nothing. Just, I really love you Bones. So much.”

“Aw. I love you too Booth.”

As they had multiple times before, the partners gazed into the eyes of the other. The same eyes they each got lost in countless times before and each time felt like a secret conversation. Words didn't have to be spoken and the silence was not awkward. It was simply Booth and Brennan at their most vulnerable.

“Lemme take a quick shower and then we can talk okay?”

Humming her response, Brennan exchanged her towel for her bathrobe and carried on with her post-bath routine. _Yeah_ , she thought, _We’re okay_.

* * *

Angela hung around in the kitchen for a little after she hung up with Brennan. She hoped Christine and Hank didn’t drive her best friend too insane. Brennan was generally a calm person but when agitated, she went from zero to a hundred without warning. Still a little agitated with Hodgins herself, she set off to bake some cookies for her children. Macadamia and chocolate chip. Their favorite.

“Hey kids, I made something for you!” Angela called out as she walked into the media room. She smiled at her children resting one on each side of their father. Hodgins had eased out of his wheelchair and into the couch. His arms wrapped around each of his kids as they continued on their ‘Flintstone’ marathon.

“What is it Mom?” Michael Vincent asked.

“It’s cookies sweetie and they’re your and your sister’s favorite.”

“Cookies!!” Katherine perked up smiling.

“Yup! So, go wash up both of you and I poured some chocolate milk for both of you. It’s in the kitchen for you to have while you wait for the cookies.”

“Thanks, Mom! Fank you Mommy!”

Both children hugged Angela as they ran out to wash up. Angela was about to walk away when Jack called out to her.

“Hey, Angie. I really am sorry about earlier. I-I didn’t mean to push like that knowing how uncomfortable it’d make you.”

“Jack. It’s okay, really.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I know how invested you are and how sometimes that can make you go overboard.”

Smiling, Hodgins reached out to his wife. Angela joined him on the couch placing her head in his lap and curled up on the couch. The two sat in comfortable silence. Hodgins playing mindlessly with his wife’s hair and Angela silently enjoying her husband’s ministrations.

“Mommy?” a little voice called out.

“Yes, sweetie?”

“Can you help me?” Little Katherine came around the corner her little blouse now decorated with rogue chocolate spots.

“Oh sweetie, did the milk spill out?”

“Uh-huh, I was wif Mickey and drinking and then sploosh down here.” She gestured to her chin.

“Maybe that means the chocolate monster wanted his milk back.” Hodgins joked.

“Silly daddy. Chockie monsta is not weal!” Katherine shook her head at her father’s clear absurdity. Giggling Angela got up and took her little girl’s hand in her own.

“Daddy’s just being silly, baby. How about we check on the cookies and then after we give you a nice bath. That way if the chocolate monster does come back, he won’t stain another shirt.”

“Okie mommy!” Katherine smiled up at her Mom squinting a little.

The doctor had warned them that even with glasses, Katherine would squint from time to time to help de-fuzz her vision. He hadn’t confirmed that it was LCA and Angela and Hodgins were hoping it wasn’t. They were blessed with Michael Vincent and hoped the same for their little miracle babe. After having been literally blown into the wall just after she got pregnant with Katherine, Angela’s pregnancy hadn’t been easy. She went on bed rest a couple of times and was strictly confined to her bed a month before giving birth.

Staring into the little bright brown eyes looking up at her, Angela wouldn’t change a single thing. Katherine had brought her and Hodgins closer together in a way she didn’t think they would be. Her little angel had completed their family and she knew from the minute she held her daughter, she would never let go. She would go to the ends of the world for her and her son and looking back at Hodgins smiling at the two of them, she knew they were in it for the long run.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!! Real quick, before we dive into the usual before chapter stuff... are the chapter lengths good enough? I don't want to write them too long but I also want to make sure I'm giving you enough time with each chapter. If you can let me know in a comment of PM, I would LOVE it!! Thank you!! 
> 
> Disclaimer: Yeah, no nothing new here. 
> 
> A/N: Truth be told, this chapter got away from. In a good way I think. We're back at B/B's home. I think I might write them a little more than the others just because I can get into their characters better but yeah, I'll do my best to get POV's from others. But truth be told, I'm happy with the way this got away from me. Again, I'm trying to keep to angst to a minimum so here's another fluffy family moment that I think we all need to see :) Enjoy!

Booth and Brennan sat on their bed, Brennan leaning on Booth’s shoulder, his arms wrapped around her drawing mindless patterns on her arm. After they had both changed into comfy house clothes, she told him everything about her conversation with Russ and the help she was offering them. 

“Oh Bones, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have walked away like that last night. You kept this to yourself?” 

“It was only for one day Bones and it was hardly twenty-four hours.” 

“But still Bones. I’m your husband and I know you have a process, but it doesn’t mean you can’t come to me.” 

“I know Booth, thank you for listening and caring about Russ, Amy and the girls.” 

“Of course, Bones. We’re family… I think what you offered them Bones, it’s great.” 

The duo sat in comfortable silence for a bit. Hank was still asleep and when Brennan went to go check on her daughter outside, Christine had fallen asleep on the couch. She had covered her with the throw blanket that was across the couch and left her daughter there to get some sleep. The children had been under a lot strain lately and Booth and Brennan had decided that they would both try to speak to their children again. They couldn’t necessarily take their children anywhere, but they would try to do something at home to break routine. What that was though, they had no idea. 

“Booth?” 

“Yeah Bones?” 

“Do you think we could visit my father and mother’s grave? It doesn’t have to be today, and you can wait in the car with the children. I just-it’s irrational I know but-”

“Bones, baby. Nothing about visiting your parent’s grave is irrational okay. And I’ll gladly go with you and stand to the side to give you time. Can I ask why you want to?” 

“It’s-I…” Brennan trailed off as she sat up face in the palms of her hands hunched over her knees that were now pulled to her chest. Booth leaned over and rubbed her back. 

“Hey, I’m here. I’m right here Bones. You can tell me anything.” 

Sighing Brennan nodded and gave herself a couple more minutes to regain some composure but as she started speaking, her voice cracked. 

“I miss them Booth. If my mother were alive, she’d have probably given me some advice over the years about motherhood. I’d have someone to go to. And my father. Max was always so good with the children and there’s no doubt that if he were here… we could have given him the spare room and perhaps the children wouldn’t be this restless.” 

“I know Bones.” 

“I-I feel like I’m failing my children Booth. Losing my grip…” 

“Bones. Hey, no. Stop right there. You are an amazing mother okay. Christine, Hank and even Parker are so lucky to have you as a mother. They are head over heels for you. They love you so much.” 

“You’re just saying that.” 

“No. No. I’m not. Okay. Bones look at me. You are doing an amazing job. No one, no one could have prepared for what would’ve happened this year. You are doing your best. Don’t you always tell me to not rush to a conclusion without grounded evidence? Well, there is no grounded evidence that you are a doing a bad job.” 

“Booth-”

Holding a hand up, Booth signaled for Bones to give him a minute. He got up from their bed and walked over to their dresser. Picking up a picture frame, he crossed back over to the bed this time sitting in front of Brennan at the edge of the side she was sitting. Handing it to her he smiled. 

“Do you remember when this was taken?” 

It was a picture of Brennan, Hank and Christine. It was about a month after they had all been in quarantine. Hank had been a little more than cranky that day, Christine had been tearing up from frustration and Brennan decided she would do something to uplift her children’s spirits. She pulled out all the spare blankets and pillows she could find. Booth had been on a call with Aubrey giving him advice on a current case he was working. She pulled couches, rearranged furniture, draped blankets, and pillows. Pretty soon, the entire living room was transformed into a mega fort. In between it all, Brennan had managed to grab a couple snacks for the kids and the bubble machine they had gotten for Christmas. 

Booth had come out of the home office to sound of his family giggling and rogue bubbles floating around. Chuckling he was absolutely stunned to see his wife on the floor blowing bubbles a little paper pirate hat on her head, the biggest smile on her face. Hank laid on his mother’s lap covered in little paint marks and Christine was chatting away a mile a minute giggling as she made more paper pirate hats. Running back into his and Brennan’s room, he grabbed the camera out of the cabinet and snuck back out to the living room capturing the moment. Later he had managed to get it developed and framed it using an extra one he found laying around the house. 

“Oh Booth.” Brennan smiled at the memory she held. It had truly been a wonderful day and she had managed to ease her children’s worries and gave them a chance to smile and forget about their little worries. Once Booth had joined them, it had become a family affair with dinner being served ‘pirate style’ in their little hideaway.

“See Bones. Don’t for a second think you are any less of the mother you are. You are exceptional and I see it every day. I have ever since we had Christine and when Hank came into the world. You fight for them. You love them. You nurture them. You are their home. And they yours. Yes, it’s hard baby. I know. But you are doing amazing and if you have any doubts, I’ll be here to ease them. I’m in this with you Bones. Right to the very end. Partners forever remember.” 

Not one to get flustered and lose her words, Temperance Brennan looked into the face of the man she had fallen in love with and built her life with, the father of her children and saw nothing but truth in his eyes. Brennan had come a long way in the years. Definitely more in tune with her emotions she was no longer as calculated or cold as she was once described. She did, however, still need reassurance from time to time. It wasn't uncommon for insecurities of doing the wrong thing by her family to creep in. Booth had been understanding of it always just as he was right now. She wrapped her arms around his neck, buried her face in the crook where his neck met his shoulder, a spot she had grown to believe was made for her, and hugged him with everything in her. 

They stayed like that, Booth reassuring her and promising to go visit her parent’s graves tomorrow until a little knock sounded at the door. 

“Mommy?” Christine’s head popped in. 

“Yes baby?” 

“Come in angel.” 

Christine walked in smiling. “I’m hungry. Can I have a snack?” 

“Of course, baby. Pulling apart from Booth, Brennan held her daughter’s hand leading her into the kitchen only to hear another little voice ring out paired with feet pattering on the hardwood floor. 

“Mommy! Daddy! I’m hungry!” 

“Come on tiger. Snack time.” Booth held his son’s hand following the girls. Brennan turned around smiling as they walked into the family room/kitchen space. 

“How about we build a fort and have another pirate snack time in the fort?” 

Little cheers erupted from their children who hugged their mom. Booth looked at his wife and smiled miming the words, told you so.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Ehh, nah, characters still not mine. Oh! Shout out to Khan Academy for the little science references in this chapter. 
> 
> A/N: Well! Here we go folks. Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. I seem to be having a case of the muse gremlin and it's been difficult finding time to write but alas we are here and I can feel a sense of inspiration come back. So, as you read, I'll be writing. Thank you for your support thus far :) We find ourselves at B/B's home again (I write them 10x better than anyone else). Yeah, that's it. Please leave a kudos and review! It helps more than you know.

The weeks passed by like one continuous time blob. Brennan and Booth found themselves extremely busy as a case popped up leaving Aubrey and the squints confused and desperate for expert eyes. Hodgins had even pitched in and jumped on a group call to help identify the strange particulates left behind on the body. In between working double time solving the case and helping their children through school, Booth and Brennan were exhausted.

“I swear I feel like I’m doing the teacher’s job.” Booth had muttered one day after Hank logged off from his virtual class.

Brennan was in the living room currently sorting through the math homework Christine’s teacher had sent. She was just as impressed as she was surprised. She never thought that seventh grade math involved an introduction to statistics and probability. She printed all twenty worksheets and began organizing them into piles. Concepts Christine had done this past week that she understood, concepts she still couldn’t understand, concepts that still hadn’t been taught yet and concepts that she had no idea how she would break down for her seventh-grade daughter. Swiping a hand over her face she reached into Christine’s bag and pulled out the notebook that contained all her math notes. This was going to be a long night, she thought.

“Christine!” she called out.

“Yes Mom?” Christine came walking back into her room with her science textbook.

“Sweetie, are you ready to start your math homework?”

“I guess but Mom I’m stuck on my science. Can you help?”

“Sure sweetheart. Come here.” Brennan patted on the spot next to her on the couch.

Christine sat beside her mother opening her textbook. “Could you explain Mass Spectrometry to me? I’ve read it over and over again, but I still don’t get it.”

“Of course.” She gave Booth a knowing smile from across the room to where he sat at the kitchen counter reading emails from Hank’s teacher about homework instructions.

“You know that everything is made up of atoms right. Well, atoms as you learned last week have the same number of protons but different number of neurons which are known as?”

“Isotopes.”

“Exactly. And isotopes have different atomic masses as well as something known as relative abundance. Can you remember what you learned about relative abundance?”

Pausing for a bit to gather her thoughts, Christine answered. “The relative abundance of an isotope is the percentage of atoms with… atomic mass found which… in the sample of an element occurs naturally.”

“Very good Christine! Okay so now, that relative abundance of each isotope can be determined using mass spectrometry. The mass spectrometer ionizes the atoms and molecules with a high-energy electron beam. It then deflects the ions through a magnetic field based on their mass to charge ratios.”

“So, it basically provides valuable information about particulates?”

“Yes, in the vernacular, you are correct. It also helps to identify molecule fragments which is why Uncle Hodgins uses it when we solve cases. Sometimes determining what was left behind on the remains helps us to narrow down a murder weapon or where the victim was prior to being murdered.”

Booth winced slightly. He and Brennan had long agreed to try to explain their jobs to Christine as best as they could without scaring the child. Booth had not wanted to for a long time but Brennan insisted that because they did such dangerous jobs, it was keen that Christine understood that.

“Oh. Okay. I get it now. My brain hurts… that was a lot.”

“Mine too angel.” Booth called out.

“I’m going to assume you are both being hyperbolic and that nothing is indeed wrong with either of your brains.” Brennan raised her eyebrows.

Christine nodded and closed her textbook. She took one look at her math homework and while she was a studious child, taking after her mother in many ways in that department, she could help but feel buried by all the work in front of her. She rested her head on the back of the couch and took a couple breaths. Brennan noticed her daughter’s distress and immediately felt bad. While she still didn’t put much stock in psychology, she could understand that a time like the ones they were living in were difficult enough mentally, emotionally and physically. There was no need to add to it by a myriad of worksheets for homework. She decided in that moment that she would email Christine’s teacher and principal to see if there wasn’t a way to cut back on the workload just a bit. Enriching children academically was something she always would support but she wouldn’t stand for it if it meant it would be at the cost of her daughter’s well-being.

“Christine, sweetie, go ahead and take a shower. We’ll go over the worksheets with concepts you’ve already learned tonight as practice and do the rest tomorrow. It’s already five in the evening and I need to get started on dinner.”

“Okie.” Christine slid off the chair and skipped along to her room. She heard Hank scuffling about his and peeped in. He was currently knee-deep in clothes.

“Hank, what are you doing?”

“I’m trying to find my lucky socks. The green and blue ones Grandpa gave me.”

“Oh. The baby ones?”

“Yeah. I kept it. It… Mommy put it…. Ahhh…” Hank sulked off to sit on the edge of his bed. Christine smiled sympathetically. It had been about three years since Max died and she and her brother had yet to learn that he died to protect and save them. Despite not knowing the truth behind his death, they missed him like crazy.

“Here, let me help. You can hand me the clothes and I can fold them. Maybe by cleaning up, we can find it.”

Hank nodded and slid off the bed joining his sister in the sea of clothing. Together they worked hand in hand passing, folding and putting away clothes until Hank spotted what he had been looking for.

“There! My lucky socks!”

He reached for the little socks on the floor holding them to his chest. On his first birthday, Max had given him a pair of blue and green socks with little orange tigers printed on them. Max had said the tigers reminded him of Hank when he saw them and since Booth often used the nickname ‘tiger’ when referring to his son, Max thought it was fitting. Turning to his sister, Hank thanked her and went to place the socks on his nightstand. Christine helped her brother put away the rest of his stuff and then left to go shower.

* * *

After Christine skipped out of the room, Brennan got up and joined her husband at the kitchen island. She stood slightly behind him and threaded her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Mmmm Bones, don’t stop.”

Giggling she shook her head and brought both her hands to his shoulders and began lightly applying pressure in the spots she had learned carried the most tension. Rolling her palms and kneading her fingers over the spots repetitively. Booth sucked in a breath and exhaled deeply. Bones’ fingers were magic and he could feel the pressure rolling away from him. Brennan continued her massage until pretty soon she replaced her fingers with her lips. Lightly kissing everywhere she touched. She felt Booth shiver at the contact and smiled continuing.

“Bones, I swear you keep that up and I’ll…”

“What Booth? You’ll what?”

Brennan placed a kiss on Booth’s neck and wrapped her arms around him. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t miss her husband. Irrational she knew especially because they were living together and had been in each other’s presence 24/7 for the past five and half months now but it felt different. There was no spontaneous moment with her husband. No late night in the kitchen when the kids were staying at Angela’s for a sleepover. No quickie on the couch in between watching a game with Booth. It had all been routine and she didn’t particularly hate routine, it was just a little too routine.

“I miss you.” She mumbled her face pressed into his back.

“What was that Bones?”

“I miss you.” She repeated lifting her head and resting her chin on his shoulder.

“Baby, I’m right here.”

“I know Booth. Never mind. I’m being irrational.”

“Hey. No no. Remember what I said Bones. No matter how irrational you think it is, it probably isn’t.” Turning himself around in the barstool, he sat facing Bones. He wrapped his legs around her hips pulling her towards him locking her in place. He reached up and rested a palm against her cheek.

“Talk to me.” He prompted.

“Our life has become routine Booth. We haven’t had any spontaneity in our lives for months, no sex in spontaneous places.”

“Woah! Bones, are you dissatisfied with our sex life?”

“What? No! God no Booth. Despite the circumstances, you’ve been very attentive to my needs. Have-have I been with you?”

“Bones, baby, yes. A million times yes. No doubt.”

They shared a silent moment together.

“So, what do mean by spontaneity Bones?”

“I mean that we have been ‘normal’, and we are never normal with each other. The kitchen counter, laundry room, couch during a game. The moments we spend dancing in the kitchen after a drink or when we’ve closed a case. We’ve come to expect every little detail about our lives and it’s a little disconcerting if I’m being honest.”

“Well, Bones we are in the middle of a pandemic. We can’t necessarily drop the kids off at Ange’s so we could make a night of it.”

“I know. I know. Ah... just forget I brought it up.”

She tried to pull away from him, but Booth wrapped his legs tighter around her refusing to let his wife walk away from this. She was clearly upset and bothered and he would be damned if he let her spend another night keeping things to herself.

“Uh-uh. I’m not. Baby, something is clearly wrong and I want you to know I’m here. Okay? It’s not only the kids I should be looking out for emotionally. You are important. Those feelings you despise, are important. We as a husband and wife are important and if there is something bothering you that you need my help with, I am going to give it to you.”

“Thank you, Booth. I love you.”

“I love you too Bones.”

Booth wrapped his wife in his arms. His face buried in her sternum and her arms around his neck with her cheek resting on his head.

“Mom! I’m done!” Christine announced as she skipped into the living room again.

“That’s my cue to start dinner.” Brennan untangled herself from Booth and walked into the kitchen to start dinner. Booth sat there a little while longer until he had an idea. One that would require an earlier than usual bedtime for the kids and earplugs.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Yeah, yeet. still not mine 
> 
> A/N: Hey guys, thank you for your patience with me getting up this chapter. I've been dealing with a lot personally and just recently lost a family member to the virus. It took me some time to just sit back and be with family. Part of the reason why I'm writing this is to provide some light-hearted fluffy moments to distract us, even if temporarily from the nightmares that we live in. Idk, at least for me, being able to do this, gives me a moment to breathe and escape to a world where yeah it is chaotic like ours but because of the love our OTP has for each other, we can find a way to escape with them. Anyways, enough babbling, here's pt 1 of the festivities taking place in this chapter. Enjoy! Also, feel free to leave a review or kudos, they mean a lot :)

Dinner passed by relatively uneventful. They all enjoyed some of Brennan’s famous mac n cheese with some chicken for Booth and the kids. After dinner, Christine resumed her spot on the floor in the family room in front of the coffee table working and Hank stayed behind on the dinning room table putting some finishing touches on a project once it was cleared. Booth had excused himself to go and work on something, although he didn’t specify what that something was. Brennan stayed behind on the couch reading one of her anthropology books. 

“Okay kiddos! Bedtime!” Booth called out. 

“Okie!” 

“Storytime!” 

Both kids hopped up from where they were eager to get to bed. Storytime would begin in Hank’s room and Booth normally carried Christine to her bedroom if she had fallen asleep. 

“Does Mommy get a goodnight hug?” 

“Of course, Mom!” 

Christine and Hank rushed over to their Mom engulfing her in a big bear hug as they affectionately called it. All while they proclaimed their love for her. 

“I love you both too. So much. Sweet dreams my loves.” 

“Okay kids let’s vamoose. I’ll be right back Bones.” 

Brennan nodded and went back to reading her book. Booth took both kids to bed and read them their story but before each fell asleep, he made sure to pop earplugs in their ears. 

“Daddy, why are you putting these things in our ears?” Christine asked.

“Well, cause it might rain really hard tonight and thunder is very loud and we don’t want you guys getting scared.” Booth lied. He tried to make a habit of not lying to his children but it was moments like this he figured it’d be best if they didn’t know the whole truth. Besides, sometimes he and Bones needed moments to just be theirs. Christine nodded accepting what her father said and before her head hit the pillow, she was out. Making sure Hank was still asleep, Booth checked on his son one more time and then proceeded to his and Bones’ bedroom. Pulling a tie from his closet, an old rock and roll t-shirt he had gotten that time he and Brennan went to the fantasy camp for a case and one of Bones’ hairbrushes, he headed outside. Quietly, he snuck by into the kitchen and hid them on the bookshelf separating the kitchen from the bar area. Brennan hadn’t noticed him walk in. He walked up to her leaning his head on the back of the couch peering over her shoulder. 

“Hey Bones.” 

“Hi Booth.” 

“Watcha reading?” 

“Oh. It’s the latest edition of Anthropology Monthly. The journal has been suffering a bit of financial difficulties in the past year so instead of sending editions out to subscribers bi-weekly, they now send them monthly. A decision which I think they could’ve done a long time ago. They’re able to cover far more content since it’s a longer turn-around and the quality of articles has drastically improved.” 

“That’s great babe but hey.” He gently pried the journal out of Brennan’s hands. “Why don’t you go and get ready for bed. Huh. Put on the comfiest pair of pj’s you can find and join me out here when you’re done.” 

“Booth… what are you planning?” 

“Me? Oh ho oh I am not planning anything.” Booth flashed her his biggest charm smile. 

“Seeley Booth, I have known you for sixteen years and I know when you’re planning something. You are up to something.” 

“Bones, do you trust me?” 

“Of course I do Booth. Why would you think I don’t?” 

“Okay so trust me when I tell you go get ready for bed. The whole nine yards, night routine, face washing, teeth brushing, everything. Meet me out here when you’re done m’kay?” 

“Okay… I’ll be back soon.” 

With Brennan now in the bathroom getting ready for bed, Booth set out to preparing what he hoped would be a chance for Brennan to get out her angst. Channel it into something else and yes, he was avoiding her having to channel it through almost killing off Agent Andy again. He moved the coffee table into the hallway, shifted the recliner to make room in the middle of the floor, wide enough for a small dance floor. He turned on the smart tv and set it to the music streaming app. He searched until he found the playlist he was looking for. Satisfied, he ran to grab his props. He tied the neck tie around his forehead like he had done a couple years ago, changed into his rock n roll T-shirt and placed the hairbrush beside the TV remote. If he had timed it correctly, he just enough time to mix him and Brennan a special B&B before she came out looking for her hairbrush to brush her hair into a braid before sleeping. A few minutes passed by and just as he was pouring the drinks, Brennan came out. 

“Booth, have you seen my… why is the coffee table in the hallway… why do you have a neck tie around your forehead?” Brennan gazed at her husband confusion written all over her face. 

“Hiya Bones!” Booth walked up to his wife with the drinks in hand. 

“Booth, I don’t understand. What-What is going on?” 

“Well Bones, I think you are in need of a destressing concert.” 

“I still don’t know what that means.” 

“It means Bones that for tonight you and I get to have our own fantasy camp.” 

It took Brennan a couple seconds before she made the connection. The neck tie and shirt he had proudly shown to her that night as they sat in his apartment eating dinner and finishing paperwork. 

“Booth, we can’t the kids. They'll wake up.” 

“Nope because tonight, there is going to be a thunderstorm and because of said thunderstorm, we gave them earplugs to help muffle the loud noise and help them sleep.” Booth raised his eyebrows. 

“But there isn’t- oh, wait. I get it now. You lied to our children so you can indulge in this fantasy tonight.” 

“Now you got it, baby. So here, drink up and come and join me.” Booth handed Brennan her drink and led her into the family room, his hand resting on his spot at the small of her back. Turning to her with a smile on his face, he picked up the remote and turned on the playlist. 

“Get ready Bones. It’s showtime!”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Okay so, now I can say I own a single character. Shannon in this one is mine and for as long as she's here in this world, she will be. I think I'm going somewhere with her and I like it. Everybody else, nah, they ain't mine. Also, the song lyrics ain't mine either. 
> 
> A/N: So, I posted once already for this period/day but you know, I just sat down and magic. In forty minutes, this was born. Please if you don't know Paramore's Riot album, I recommend listening to it. It was my muse tonight. We go a little harder than I thought and definitely not where I thought I'd end up but here we go. Pt. 2 of the rock n roll festivities. Lemme know what you think!

Brennan stared in awe at her husband. Booth was playing an air guitar and banging his head around to the beat lip-syncing. While it was totally out of her comfort zone, she couldn’t help but feel connected. An enigma she was certain of it. But as it was many times before, being with Booth did that. Since the beginning. Arguing with him then set her on fire in ways she couldn’t begin to describe. If she were totally honest with herself, she would admit that it had scared her. Never before had she met someone who could irritate her to her last cell but still manage to pull her in oh so close to the point of letting down her walls.

Like her husband, it made no sense, but she was in for the long run. She shook her head. A couple years ago she was certain that she would never be able to give him the 30, 40 or 50 years he wanted. But now, almost seven years later, she was happily married to the same man who had not once given up on them. Yes, it may have seemed so at one point, but Booth had told her that even then, his attempt at moving on was futile a mistake. Temperance Brennan, at this moment in her yoga pants and tank top, hair down was in it for the 30, 40 or 50 years she would get with her husband and she wouldn’t want it any other way. Breaking her out of her thoughts were the lyrics Booth was now lip-syncing to.

_We’ll get it right this time_   
_…..._   
_I’ve gone for too long living like I’m not alive_   
_So I’m gonna start over tonight_   
_Beginning with you and I_   
_I don’t want to run from anything uncomfortable_   
_I just need this pain to end right now_   
_I’m not going_   
_Cause I’ve been waiting for a miracle_

“Bones, you okay?”

The music had died down a bit and the current song playing was some kind of acoustic version of what she assumed was a very upbeat, jump around and scream song.

“Yes, of course… I’m-I’m more than okay Booth.”

“Okay, you wanna join me? It’s actually very therapeutic. You know? Just getting it all out.”

“Yes, I can imagine although I am quite positive, we’ll both need a shower after.”

“Well, how’s about we sweat it all out now and then clean each other in the shower?” Booth’s eyebrows shot up in a mischievous waggle. Throwing her head back laughing, Brennan shook her head at her husband’s very non-subtle way to seduce her.

“Oh Bones! Here’s another headbanger!”

Booth began again.

_Oh no I just keep on falling_   
_And where’s hope, when misery comes crawling?_   
_With your fate, you’ll trigger a landslide_   
_And kill off this common sense of mind_

“Oh I love this song!” Brennan cheered getting into the groove of just letting her body loose.

“You do? Bones, I didn’t know that.”

“Yes, I was out of state working with a colleague of mine on a research project. It was very… The subject matter hit close to home as it dealt with identifying bone remodeling on victims of abuse. Most of the case study came from children in the foster system.”

Booth now intrigued had paused the music momentarily to listen to Brennan.

“There were a few remains we were studying and a few children who were alive that we interviewed. One of the girls… Shannon was her name. She was a teenager. Similar start in the system like I had and the few homes she had been in prior to being rescued had been abusive. Very abusive. Anyways, I was working with her because I couldn’t explain it at the time, but I felt drawn to her.” Drawing a shaky breath, Brennan reached out to hold on to Booth. Something she did now when she needed to feel grounded.

“She and I worked together for days talking about her story. One day, I went by the shelter she was staying in to take her out to lunch. I went up to her room and this was the song she was listening to. On repeat. When I asked why, she said it gave her hope. It helped her acknowledge that any day might be the end, that her life was difficult, but she had a purpose. She was born for this and she would live like it… like any day was her last. She wanted that chance to do so. To live like every day was her last by choice instead of wondering if it would because of her reality. Given the injuries she had sustained, and from what I saw on her x-rays, that may have well been the case when she was in those homes.”

“What happened to her after that?”

“Well, that day, I danced around with her a bit and we got lunch came back to her place and danced around some more. I helped with homework and she got me a copy of the song so I could listen to it. She got adopted. At the end of the study, there was a couple who couldn’t have children and had wanted a teenage daughter to care for. They came, met Shannon and adopted her.”

“That must have been great for her.”

“Yes, it was. It was also quite emotional to see her go. I had helped her pack and get her stuff together. She left me with a copy of the song and a picture we took together. Every day, at least once a day, I would listen to it and think of her.” Brennan smiled softly; her eyes distant remembering the curly-haired young woman she had befriended years ago.

“Do you know where she is now?”

“Yes, she’s living in New York I believe. She had moved to California with her adoptive parents. We stayed in touch. Via email mostly. She would send me essays to proofread for her, reach out about questions in general about life after the system. She graduated in the top ten of her high school class. She was fourteen at the time when I met her. She then went to Boston University. Majored in linguistics and writing. She works for the New Yorker I believe and teaches part-time at NYU.”

“She made something of herself. Just like you did.”

“Yes, she did.”

“Do you still talk to her?”

“Every now and then. She considers me a mentor, although our relationship is more reminiscent of an older and younger sister duo.”

“I’d love to meet her one day.”

“I think we can set that up. I’ll email and set up a video call. I’d love to catch up with her also. It’s been a while since our last correspondence.”

“You know Bones, I’ve told you this before but seriously. People don’t give you enough credit for that heart of yours. It is beautiful baby. As are you.”

“Booth…” Brennan ducked her head shyly at her husband’s praises.

“Well, this is for Shannon.” Lifting the remote, he turned on the song again and they both danced their hearts out. Booth for the huge heart and life his wife had been born for and Brennan for the life she realized she was born for.

_Say this with me go_   
_We were born for this (We were born for this)_   
_We were born for this (We were born for this)_   
_We were born for, we were born for_

Brennan hopped up on the couch and banged her head, throwing her fists up singing rather than lip-syncing.

_Everybody sing_   
_Like it’s the last song you will ever sing_   
_Tell me, tell me can you feel the pressure?_   
_Everybody live_   
_Like it’s the last day you will ever see_

And that they did. On the couch, on the floor, jumping around the entire floor. Booth and Brennan danced as if that night were their last and when the music continued, so did they. Only stopping to grab beer from the fridge and even then, they were so pumped they couldn’t stop the dancing. Then they drank for the hurt, pain, detours and chaos they had and were dealing with.

_Why do we like to hurt so much_   
_Oh why do we like to hurt so much_   
_That’s what you get when you let your heart win_

When they had danced for another hour, they let their heart win for the night. Retiring to their bathroom, they gently washed each other cooling off. Gentle touches turned to passionate moments of love declarations only to then end in them dancing together in a way they had perfected over the years they had been together. Silent pleas, approvals and encouragements. Hands covering the others screams only to remember that there was a thunderstorm scheduled that night. Noise was warranted and indulging in a laugh together, foreheads pressed together, limbs a tangle in sheets, they proceeded to create their own thunderstorm.

A storm so beautiful, so fragile, passionate, life-giving and breathtaking. It was an enigma like them. To Temperance Brennan and Seeley Booth, it was a storm they would live in and would make last forever unwilling to force their eyes to see the end.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Yeah, same old same old. These lovely people and anyone you recognize from the series ain't mine. 
> 
> A/N: After much consideration on whose home to go to, I’ve decided that we’ll go back to Cam and Arastoo’s home this chapter. Obviously, we’re going to skip ahead a few weeks from where we last saw them, and in case you need a refresher, Cam was settling into life with her boys and husband when she found out Felicia was hospitalized with the virus. I pulled a little bit from the experience I had with my grandfather in the hospital to write Felicia’s. I know everyone is hit differently so if you’ve had to experience this with a loved one, my heart goes out to you. Sending my love.

Nervously twiddling her fingers, Cam sighed again. She had gotten a call from George saying that Felicia was doing better. Thank God and especially since she was now able to talk. When she had first gotten sick, Felicia could barely speak, her energy drained and body too tired for anything other than sleep. She had had to be intubated but now, she only needed help from the oxygen mask to breathe. Her vitals had improved, and she was more stable than she had been when she first went into the hospital. She had been moved to the recovery unit at the hospital and was being monitored. George had told Cam that Felicia had her phone with her and had promised to call Cam as soon she could. Apparently soon meant an hour of nerves and fears for Cam. She knew it was unlikely for Felicia to slip back into a bad state since she had been doing well for a little over a week and her being at the hospital was just a precursor to ensure she was healthy enough to return home. 

“Hey, has she called yet?” Arastoo poked his head around the wall peering into the kitchen where Cam sat at the island. 

“No and I’m starting to worry.” She sighed. 

“It’ll be okay Cam. Maybe the nurses are just checking up on her and she’s a little preoccupied.” 

“I know. I know. It’s just…” 

“It’s just what habibata?” 

“I’m so scared Arastoo. The past two weeks have been so draining. Calling George every day to see if he found out something. Everyday wondering if she would die. If we’d have to be worrying about planning a funeral. God, what would I have to tell Michelle?” 

“Have you even told Michelle?” 

“Umm…” 

“Cam!” 

“I didn’t want her to worry. She’s been busy with school. She called me and told me she had enrolled in classes online to work towards getting her master’s degree and I know the stress that comes with that. I didn’t want to add to it.” 

“Okay, so what I’m hearing is as soon as you’re done talking to Felicia, you’re going to call Michelle and tell her.” 

“Wait no I can’t.” Just as Cam was rebutting, her phone began ringing, the video caller ID saying ‘Felicia’. 

“I’ll leave you to it and you’re calling Michelle.” 

Arastoo didn’t wait for Cam’s reply. He smiled walking back up the stairs leaving Cam staring at her phone for a moment. Sighing, she answered the phone and when Felicia’s face lit up the screen, she felt her heart shatter. Gone was the lively smirk that was ever present on her sister’s face. Her eyes that once held so much light held only a little sparkle in them. Her face was sunken in and Cam could distinctly see her zygomatic arc. 

“Are you just gonna stare at my beautiful face all day?” Felicia quipped with a smile. 

“Maybe I should take a screenshot, it’ll last longer.” The two sisters shared a laugh, a laugh that for both held an equal amount of relief, love and hope. To each, it was music to hear the other’s voice and amusement. 

“How are you?” Cam asked. 

“I feel like a fright train knocked me over on the inside but I’m alive.” 

“That you are sis. That you are.” 

“Tell me about your family. Your boys, how are they?” 

“They’ve been well. Worried about their aunt they have yet to meet.” 

“Well, as soon as I can make my way down there I will.” 

“Oh, I know you will.”

“And that husband of yours? What exotic cuisines has he been cooking up?” 

“Ha-ha Felicia only you would be lying on a hospital bed right now still fighting for your life wondering about food.” 

“Hey, the last time I was over was just before you got married and Arastoo cooked that night.” 

“Fatayer!” 

“Yes, that was it.” Felicia chuckled but soon began coughing. 

“Felicia, are you okay.” 

“I’m…I’m… fine Cam… this thing left me… with a little… little nagging cough.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes. Now… enough about me. I kinda wanna escape through you.” 

“You want me to talk about me?” 

“Cam please. I need… I need to know something close to me is normal.” 

Smiling, Cam wiped away a stray tear that had escaped. She settled into telling Felicia about everything she had been doing while in quarantine. The things her boys had built, Arastoo being included in the ‘boys’ generalization. She spoke about Michelle and her hard work. She told her sister everything and anything. Slowly, throughout the hour they spent talking, Cam felt her fears being extinguished and the bond with her sister recreating itself. For an hour, Felicia shoved the past month so far back in her head, it could probably break out of her skull. She didn’t care if it did. All that mattered to her was making sure that for an hour, she could feel normal. Normal was now a foreign term. An enigma. But both sisters, though they never voiced it, made sure it was the most basically defined word in their vocabulary and could be used to define the hour they spent on the phone. Normal for an hour was better than the weird mix they were living in, that, they were sure, was not ‘normal’ in the slightest. 

“I should probably leave you to rest some more Felicia.” 

“Yeah, but hey, I’ll call you again tomorrow.” 

“Tomorrow?” 

“Yes, tomorrow. I love you sis.” 

“Thank you for calling me. I love you too Felicia.” 

“Bye Cam.” 

The call ended and Cam sat there for a minute catching her breath and steadying her mind. There was so much she wanted to say, but with the hope of another call tomorrow, she put a pin in everything buzzing around her head. She opened her contact list and scrolled to the one name she hoped she wouldn’t have to dial but she knew Arastoo wouldn’t let her hear the end of it if she didn’t. Ring. Ring. Ring. 

“Cam, hey. What’s up?” 

Releasing a breath she wasn’t even aware she was holding, Cam readied herself. 

“Michelle. There’s something I need to tell you.” 

Michelle sat on the other line taking everything in stride. Her mind a mess and her heart hurting. She was a little upset that her mom had kept it from her but she understood that Cam was coming from a good place. She sat on the other end in silence for a couple of minutes. 

“Michelle, are you still there?” 

“Yeah. Yeah. So, Aunt Felicia is okay now.” 

“Yes Michelle. She’s on her way to a full recovery.” 

“Can I call her?” 

“I’m sure she would love that. Just text her before so she can know when you’re calling. She might be resting now.” 

“Yeah, Yeah of course. I actually have a test to study for and take so I’ll text her when I’m done.”

“How is school going? I mean, it’s gotta be different now.” 

“That’s a grave understatement. It’s weird and has been mentally taxing but it’s also been good to have something to do.” 

“I know. Listen sweetheart. I’m proud of you and I love you.” 

“I love you too Cam. I miss you.” 

“I miss you too.” 

“Cam… you know what never mind.” 

“No, what’s wrong Michelle?” 

“Living alone has been great and all but…” 

“You want to come home.” 

“Yeah, but like I don’t wanna risk getting anyone sick.” 

“Michelle, we can figure something out. There’s a way to do it safely, we just need to cover all out bases.” 

“Okay. We can talk about it later?” 

“Of course.” 

“Thanks Cam. I love you.” 

“I love you too Michelle.” 

Cam ended the call and sat thinking. It seemed like all she was doing today was thinking but the thought of her daughter possibly coming home gave her something useful to think about rather than just random thoughts. Cam slid from her spot on the island and went to make herself some tea. She walked into the home office booted up her computer and began getting her ducks in a row. For some reason that thought made her think about Booth’s wedding vows and she chuckled wondering what her friends were doing right now and how they were faring with their two hyperactive children.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This chapter is kind of heavy and deals with mental health (only in the first part). Nothing graphic but just giving a warning before you dive in. A little more angsty than what we’re used to but all-in good stride. Characters you recognize, not mine. Shannon, yes, mine. 
> 
> A/N: Gonna try something new for this chapter. I’ve been thinking about Shannon and how to tie her in more permanently in the story. I’ve also been thinking about this whole fic and trying to decide where I want to take it. TBH, I’m not entirely sure so, let’s just see where each chapter takes us huh and how long we embark on this journey. Okay enough rambling, I promise my author’s notes will get shorter (maybe not hahaha). As per usual, leave me a review or kudos, they help :) Enjoy!

Shannon sat at her desk looking purposelessly at the screen in front of her. She had a draft due to her editor in the next three weeks and she couldn’t bring herself to write for the life of her. Working as a travel writer for the magazine company she was with came to an abrupt halt with the pandemic and she was forced to look into other avenues to keep her busy. She had been writing since college and got on and off publishing gigs with short stories being featured in many fiction journals and review editorials. Not to mention her articles she wrote for the magazine had earned her prestigious accolades and the platform she needed to jumpstart her own blog. Sighing she scrubbed a hand over her face and closed the document after saving it. Although, there was nothing new to save. She had been sitting at her desk for the past two hours with nothing new to add. No spark, no direction, no purpose this time around.

She picked up the picture frame that sat beside her desk lamp. Tears burned the back of her eyes and she wished she could buy a plane ticket and jet off to see the woman smiling back at her. Temperance Brennan. It had been years since they had last seen each other; the last being her last day in the shelter before being adopted. Tempe had been a godsend and Shannon had no idea how she would’ve survived that season of her life having not known Tempe. She had come in and injected life, hope, and inspiration into the teenager who was on the brink of giving up. She hadn’t told Tempe the gravity of how positively she had impacted her life, but it was Temperance Brennan’s words that had infiltrated her mind that godforsaken night and had let her throw the pill bottle halfway across the room and then that gave her the strength to pick it up and flush the white monsters down the toilet.

_“Hey, I know things are hard now and there is no quantitative, certain way I can assure you Shannon but using my own life as an example, you will survive this, and it will get better. It can and it will.”_

_“Oh Tempe, how can you be sure. I just want to give up somedays.”_

_“I know. I know Shannon. But would I ever lie to you?”_

_Shannon shook her head in the negative. Tempe picked up the frail skinny hand and held it in hers._

_“Then believe me when I say it can and it will get better. Look at me. You are a beautiful girl, and I am so lucky to have met you and become your friend. I don’t say this often but I love you Shannon and I believe in you and your story.”_

_“Thanks, Tempe.”_

_“Always and when I’m not here, I need you to fight. Fight. Fight for me, fight for you, and fight for the beautiful life you deserve.”_

Later that night as Shannon sat in bed crying herself sleep not able to take the emotional claustrophobia that settled like a thick fog over her, she reached for the pill bottle only to knock down the very same picture she would be holding years later. It was taken the day Tempe had taken her hiking for the first time. They were sweaty, cheeks flushed, hair sticking to their faces but the smiles on their faces were unparalleled. She tossed the pill bottle and decided to fight.

For the past twenty-three years, that’s what she had done. She fought until she was adopted. She fought to keep the demons at bay, she fought to do well in school and had fought to get through school graduating magna cum laude with her master’s degree and then on to work on becoming a professional in her field. Mastering and honing her craft at every corner. Even with the little things that had hurt, she fought past it until recently. Her adoptive parents had both lost their battle with the virus and now she was orphaned once again unable to have said goodbye one last time. Tears welled up in her eyes and this time, she let them fall over the glass-covered picture frame. Unable to take it anymore, she picked up the phone just as an email alert pinged on her laptop.

Opening it, she couldn’t stop crying now even if she tried.

**_Dear Shannon,_ **   
**_I hope you are doing well despite the current condition of the world. I miss you, it’s been forever, yes, a grave exaggeration, since we’ve last seen each other and I must apologize for that. I know we’ve both been busy, but I could have done better in flying out to see you or arranging for you to fly out here. How are your parents? I know the last time we spoke you had told me that they were well on in their retirement and I believe you had referred to them as your old bats, a moniker which up to this day brings a smile to my face. I heard about the cutbacks the magazine was doing, how are you with regards to that? Are you still able to work in a different department or at least on a side job that brings in money? Please Shannon if you need any help, let me know._ **   
**_I am emailing because I’d love to set up a time to video call. The other night, my husband and I were dancing around to music, very similar the music you would always play. I still remember our dance sessions; a memory I hold near and dear to me and look back on with such fondness. Then our song came on and I began telling him about you. I don’t know why it took me so long to mention you. I like to think about it as my little secret world. Just us. What is ours is ours you know? Until of course deemed necessary to share. He was very interested in hearing about you and learning about your accomplishments since then and would love to meet you. I would also love to reconnect with you if we can. I miss you Shannon like I said. I really do and I hope to hear from you soon._ **   
**_Call me at the number attached or send me an email in response._ **   
**_Love always,_ **   
**_Tempe_ **

With shaking hands, Shannon picked up the phone and dialed the number she didn’t need to verify. She had it memorized it back then and it was still engrained in her memory. It only ringed twice before she heard the voice that she had been dying to hear from in the past four months.

“Brennan.”

“Hey Tempe, it’s me.”

“Shannon? Oh my. How are you, sweetheart? I just emailed you.”

“I know, that’s why I’m calling well not exactly why but part of the reason.” Shannon sniffled.

“Sweetheart, are you crying?”

“Oh Tempe. I can’t fight anymore.”

“Baby, what do you mean?”

Shannon tried to talk but her breaths became swallowed by her hiccups. She barely heard Tempe encouraging her to calm down until she finally stopped to a mere whimper.

“Hey, you want to talk to me and tell me what’s going on? It always made it easier back then.”

“My-my- parents… they um… they’re gone Tempe.”

“Shannon, I am so sorry. When?”

“Four-four months ago.”

“Oh sweetheart, I’m sorry. Why didn’t you call?”

“Tempe I’m sorry. I should have but then I had to deal with funeral arrangements, extended family I had never met, work furloughing me and then my book contract. It just became too much, and I figured that you had your own things to deal with.”

“Shannon, sweetheart, I always have time for you, regardless of what is going on in my life.”

“Oh Tempe. I miss you.”

“I miss you too. Where are you right now?”

“I’m here in my New York apartment.”

“Are you living alone or do have roommates?”

“No, no roommates. I’ve been living alone for the past two years. It made it easier with my job since I was always traveling but as of recently, well… you know.”

“Yeah. I know. Shannon I um I have an idea but I need to talk to someone first.”

“About?”

“Well, it involves you and your living arrangement in the near future but that’s all I’m going to say to it right now.”

“Oh Tempe, always the one to not say anything until all the cars were counted.”

“Some things never change sweetheart.”

“And I’m grateful. Thank you.”

“Always. Do you need me to send you anything right now? What do you need?”

“Tempe, I just needed to hear your voice and talk to you for a bit.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, positive.”

“Okay, I’ll call you soon. Take care of yourself Shannon.”

“I will Tempe.”

“I love you Shannon.”

“I love you too. Bye.”

Shannon ended the call feeling ten times better than she had at the beginning of it. She mulled over what Tempe could possibly be planning but decided it was best to let Tempe handle things right now.

Getting up from her desk, Shannon walked into the bathroom running a bath. Her small studio apartment had never felt like home to her. It was always just a place to rest before the next big adventure and in some ways, she was upset that she had never taken the time to make it feel like home. Some of her things were still packed in boxes; mainly decorations and a couple of winter clothes she hadn’t found the space for. Her kitchen supplies had been the same but since the lockdown in New York, she had broken them all out learning new recipes and had even hopped on the famous banana bread trend. She should probably unpack it all but if she was honest with herself, as long as her bedding was clean and bed were livable and her kitchen full stocked and desk supplied, she had no other reason to unpack and set up anything else.

The tension in her shoulders were at the point of painful; definitely going to have to pull out the bath salts and lavender oil she thought. She filled the tub and wandered back into the kitchen to grab the stuff from the extra cabinet. She also swiped the vinyl she had left out on the stool in the kitchen and set it up on the record player she had set up in the bathroom for moments just like these. Playing the album she had fallen in love with all those years ago, she settled in the tub letting the power of the candle aroma and memories overcome her. Whatever was going to happen would be good and she decided that despite how exhausted she felt, she would fight. Tempe’s words echoing louder.

_“Always and when I’m not here, I need you to fight. Fight. Fight for me, fight for you and fight for the beautiful life you deserve.”_

* * *

Brennan paced around her living room. She hadn’t been expecting Shannon to call her so soon. More so, she hadn’t been expecting Shannon to call her sharing the news of her parents passing. Brennan wasn’t unfamiliar with being an orphan, both her parents now being dead, but she wasn’t immune to the feelings even all these years later. She couldn’t begin to comprehend the weight of what Shannon was feeling. If it had been any other time, she would have jet off the be by her young friend’s side. But now, she had health precautions to consider and children of her own. Frustrated, Brennan shook her head and paced some more. Booth was out in the background throwing around a football with the kids. They had calmed down a bit in the last couple of days but today they had woken up with so much excess energy the only logical thing was to leave them to run it out.

Oh god she thought. How would Booth react? Would he even accept what she was trying to do? Or thinking of doing. The last time she had seen Shannon had been the day she was adopted. She remembered the day like it was yesterday. The goodbye had been emotional but promising both women agreeing that is was more of a see you later than a goodbye. Could this be the cash in on the see you later moment? Not able to handle the confusing thoughts anymore, Brennan walked outside. Her children immediately running over.

“Mom! Mommy! Come play!” eager voices shouted.

“Aw I’d love to sweeties, but I need to talk to Dad right now. Christine, can you keep Hank safe and play a little together?”

“Okay, Mom! Come on Hank we can play catch!” Christine didn’t bat an eye at her mother’s request. Still awash in energy, she simply grabbed her brother's hand leading him to the far end of the backyard away from the porch and the treehouse construction.

“Bones, what’s wrong?” Booth panted walking towards his wife.

“I need to talk to you about something important. Do you need water? You look quite famished.”

“No, no Bones. I’m okay. Really.”

“Okay. Um. Okay where do I start?” Brennan paced the back porch playing with her fingers. Temperance Brennan was never one to become overly anxious. She had always prided herself on being composed. Maybe this is what Angela meant when she told Brennan that she cared too much; it made so much harder to not try and distance yourself from it all to make sense of it.

“Bones… baby hey. Talk to me. What’s going on?”

“Shannon called.”

“The girl you were telling me about that night?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Booth paused gauging his wife’s behavior. It wasn’t often that she got flustered and in the moments she did, it was always because there was something weighing heavily on her and she was overthinking. He reached for her arms pulled her to a stop in front of him. His thumbs traced circles in her biceps, and he held firmly, a calming mechanism he had realized over the past few years that helped in moments like these. Just as he was about to ease her worries and ask her to tell him what was wrong, his phone rang. He decided to just ignore it. Maybe whoever was calling would get the idea and leave him alone.

“Booth, your phone.”

“Not important now Bones.”

The ringing continued and then stopped. Then started again.

“Booth, I… we’ll talk later.”

“Bones no whoever it is can wait.”

“Booth, it could be Parker or an emergency.”

Huffing in frustration Booth grabbed his phone.

“Whoever this is, you better have a good reason for calling me.”

“Booth! You won’t believe it! I did it!”

“Aubrey what the hell are you talking about?”

“The chicken wing tower! Oh, Booth it’s exceptional! I got barbeque sauce, honey mustard and a dab of sweet and sour it’s exceptional!”

“Cher you better make sure you ain’t poisoning us because if you do, I am coming back from the dead to poison you.”

Booth removed the phone from his ears looking at it confused. Was that Caroline on the other end?

“Aubrey was that Caroline?”

“Oh yeah, yeah. I forgot to tell you that Jessica and I are quarantining with Caroline. But Booth oh I’ve gotta make another one and drop it off. You and the Mrs. have got to try it! I can leave at the end of  
your driveway and-”

“Aubrey, hold up. Why are you quarantining with Caroline? I thought you and Jessica were staying at your apartment.”

It was Brennan’s turn to look confused.

“Oh right, I forgot to tell you with everything that had been going on. There was a nasty water leak in my building. Flooded out almost everything. We didn’t have anywhere else to go, Caroline walked in on us talking about it in the lounge at the Hoover and offered to take us in.”

“Oh. Well, that makes sense, but do we really have to talk about chicken wings now? I’m kind of in the middle of something here… look I’ll call you back and we’ll talk okay?”

“Oh! I didn’t mean to interrupt. Y’all carry on. I’m sure with the kids it must be hard to find time-”

“Aubrey!” Booth’s face turned beet red and he pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. Brennan looked at him even more confused at the one-sided conversation she was hearing.

“Okay. Okay. Calm down. I’m going. Catch ya later Booth.”

Aubrey ended the phone call without another word. Booth looked down at the phone in his hands confused, worried and flustered. He looked up and saw a mirror of his emotions on his wife. He reached for her hands and managed a weak smile.

“It’s okay. Aubrey is just. You know, I don’t really know but I’ll catch up with him later. You were saying something?”

“Booth… can we talk later please?”

“Bones…”

“No Booth, I’m… I’m not shutting you out.” Brennan gave a weak chuckle.

“I just need time to think. There’s a lot that’s coming back and need time to think through it rationally and process it.”

“If you’re sure.”

“Yes.”

Booth looked at his wife. He could still see evidence of her unsettled emotions in her eyes and her forehead had that little crease in it that it normally had whenever her brilliant mind was working too fast for the average human. But if Booth had learned anything over the past decade was that Bones needed space to sort through things. She had learned to let him in but initially, she still needed space to think things through. He loved her dearly and respected her so much so, if she needed time to think, he would give her the time she needed and would be right there when she was ready. He had learned long ago to never rush her for anything. He pulled her in for one their famous guy hugs and held her.

Brennan knew Booth wanted to talk her through it now but was grateful he was giving her time. She herself didn’t know what to do. All she did know what that she wanted to help Shannon in whatever way she could. She was so overwhelmed she was confused but being in her husband’s arms, her partner’s arms, she couldn’t explain it, but she felt better. She felt like she could do anything. Booth’s hugs always did that and now that they were a couple, a married couple, she was grateful that she was always privy to these hugs.

“You’ll figure it out Bones. You always do and I’m right here okay. Standing beside you always.” Booth whispered into her hair kissing the top of her head. All Brennan could do in that moment was hug him tighter.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No... nothing new. keep scrolling :) 
> 
> A/N: Hi. I’ve missed this and y’all!! I’ve been traveling back to school and settling in which took up a lot of my time and now school is back and I’m just upset because I know even more of my time will be taken up. But I won’t let this fic die. Okay so… let’s go and hear from Aubrey and them huh? Short, sweet, fluffy, kind of a filler.

Aubrey grinned as he looked at his masterpiece. He had really outdone himself. The chicken wing tower was at least 10 inches tall and he managed to pour the sauces all over without dripping down the edge of the bowl. Jessica had reprimanded him last week for almost blowing up Caroline’s kitchen making whipped coffee but as Aubrey put it, practice made perfect and it was when the kitchen did blow up, you would know you’re doing it right. He waltzed out of the kitchen mentally making a list of everything else would need to get at the next grocery to be able to make two towers, one for himself and another to deliver to Booth’s. 

As he walked down the hallway into the living room, he could hear Jessica and Caroline chatting and laughing together. He hadn’t heard Caroline laugh much before but now that he had, he realized it was quite an infectious sound, in a good way. He was also extremely grateful that Caroline took them and offered for them to stay at her place. He and Jessica truly had no idea what they would have done and he knew Jessica appreciated having the older woman around. Jessica shared very little about her family and he knew that the only time she would talk about them would be when she brought cooperative. He wondered if Caroline felt like a mother figure Jess could relate to. 

“Hey Superman, you gonna stand there all day or are we gonna get to taste these famous wings?” 

“Careful now Cherie, I’m hoping it’s good because like I said earlier I ain’t gonna appreciate you poisoning us now.” 

Aubrey chuckled moving towards the couches. He placed the tower on the coffee table next to the already laid outspread of snacks. Vegetables and dips, pigs in a blanket, cheesy fries, and a ton of Dr. Pepper. Jessica held up a DVD and he smiled at her choice. Jessica had a knack for musicals, and it was only recently he found out that she kept quite the collection hidden. Caroline had agreed to movie afternoons with them and they alternated who chose the movie. This afternoon was Jessica’s turn and she proudly held up “Annie”. Aubrey nodded and went to get the movie and speaker system set up. He was shocked initially but grateful that Caroline had let him bring his surround sound speaker system with him, he figured it was because she realized she could also watch her shows at an immaculate volume. Settling into the loveseat beside his girlfriend and with Caroline comfortably on the recliner, they enjoyed a quiet afternoon together. 

Aubrey kept sneaking glances at Jessica as she hummed along to the songs and singing softly. He smiled at how carefree she looked and wondered about her past. Again, there was only so much she had told him but from the twinkle in her eyes when Annie got to stay at the Warbucks and the tears that brimmed her eyes when she was kidnapped, he could tell. He wouldn’t be much of an FBI agent if he didn’t put two and two together. Something had happened before Jess ended up at the cooperative. The end credits began rolling and Caroline got up stretching. 

“That was a nice one Cher. It’s always been one of my favorites.” 

“Glad you liked it Caroline.” Jessica smiled shaking the smarties she had retrieved from the fridge halfway through the movie from the fridge into her mouth.

“You heading in?” Aubrey asked. 

“Yeah Cher. I gotta be up early tomorrow. Some special meeting with the suits upstairs and I need to do a little bit more case reading before then. You would think that at my age the homework would stop. Now I know how those poor school kids must feel.” 

Aubrey and Jessica chuckled waving goodbye to Caroline as she walked upstairs. They settled on the loveseat a little more before Jessica broke the silence. 

“What’s up superman? I can hear you thinking from here.” 

“Nothing Jess.” 

“You sure?” Jessica turned facing Aubrey. 

“Yeah, I mean we can talk later.” 

“Okay now, you’re scaring me.” 

“No. No. No. No need to be scared. It’s nothing bad Jess. I’m just curious is all.” 

“About?” 

“You know what about.” 

Jessica sucked in a breath and sighed. She knew Aubrey had been curious about her past and even though he had run a background check on her before, he hadn’t done it again and instead had given her the space she needed to think about how to let him in on her own. For that, she was grateful but also a little self-conscious. She felt bad for keeping him in the dark but there was so much to talk about she didn’t know how or where to begin. She began to breathe quicker and before she could blink Aubrey pulled her in for a hug and held her. 

“Hey, it’s okay… You don’t have to tell me now... I’m here… Whenever you’re ready… shhhhh…it’s okay, Jess…breathe love…” he kept cooing to her and rubbing her back. 

“I’m sorry.” She mumbled into his chest. 

Aubrey pulled away then and looked at her. Jessica could feel her pulse speed up at the way Aubrey was looking at her. So much love and concern etched into his features, you’d have to be certified in stupid to not know how much he cared about her. He lifted his hand gently grabbing hold of her chin tilting her upward so she could look at him. 

“Don’t you ever apologize okay. Not for not telling me, not for what happened to you and certainly not for your fears. It is up to you on when you want to tell me. I’m not going to lie, I want to know but I’ll wait for when you’re ready to let me know. And when you do, Jess, I am going to be right here. Okay?” 

“Okay.” Jessica smiled at him and leaned in just as he did and in a dance they’d long since perfected, they held on to each other, loving each other and getting lost in each other. Until. 

“Oh god, get a room you two! Please! Now I know I’ve had my moments when I was your age but please! Not on my couch!” Caroline huffed walking by them to grab a file she had left on the writing desk by the window. Aubrey looked away blushing and Jessica threw her head back laughing. 

For right now, yeah, they’d be okay.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Do I really got to do this every time... I think we all know what's up 
> 
> A/N: I’m back. So sorry to keep y’all waiting. School has been… yeah. But my plan as I sit to write this is to write as much as humanly possible tonight so I have content to upload throughout the week. Okay so, I have absolutely no idea where we’re going but let’s go shall we?

It had been a little over a week since Brennan and Shannon had called. She had been busy trying to work everything out in her head before letting Shannon but that didn’t stop her from sending emails daily checking in on her young friend. Shannon had also been grateful for the increased communication between her and Tempe. Tempe had even hinted at being sorry for not having much more to tell her and offer but Shannon had told her it didn’t matter. In all honesty, she was grateful for a little more time to get things in order on her end. She spent some time sending out applications to other magazine companies in an effort to regain employment. But, like everyone out there who got furloughed initially, finding employment in the middle of a global pandemic was difficult. 

Brennan had eventually told Booth at his insistence of course. They laid in bed one night after an intense lovemaking session and as Booth had laid back catching his breath, he could tell there was something on Brennan’s mind. Laying in his arms that night, her hand absentmindedly drawing on his chest, he asked her what was wrong. She held back and told him she was okay, but he extracted himself from under her and flipped himself to hover over her. His knees encasing her hips, he dropped his forehead to rest against hers. Brennan took a couple of breaths and when she opened her eyes, he was looking at her; love and concern written all over his face. 

“Baby talk to me. Ever since that day you’ve been trying to figure something out. Let me help.” 

“Booth…” 

“Bones... I'm here... You don't need to do this alone...” He whispered. 

She relented and began telling him about Shannon and the conversation she shared. She told how worried she was and how much she wanted to pack up and fly to be with her during this time. How she wished she could have helped her fund the funeral expenses, how she hated that she was all alone in the world again. She talked so fast in a hushed tone that she was out of breath by the end of her speech. Booth spent the night calming her down and advising her on how to continue. He thought it’d be best if she spent a little bit of time talking to Shannon and them getting reacquainted with each other before either one of them came to a final decision. Brennan had agreed and the both of them now too awake to fall asleep were planning on round two just as a little knock sounded and the sound of little feet padded into the room. 

“Mommy… I had a bad dream…” Hank mumbled sleepily. His little stuffed tiger dangling from his hands where he was clutching at one of the paws. 

“I’ll get him Bones.” Booth ducked out of bed and hurriedly pulled on his boxers walking around to his son. 

“No Booth, wait. It’s easier for him to fall back asleep if he’s with us. Let me just go pull on a shirt and some pants.” Booth nodded as he picked up Hank swinging him around. Brennan came back out of the adjoining bathroom dressed in an oversized, faded FBI shirt and a pair of loose cotton PJ shorts. She motioned for Booth to bring Hank over and when he plopped the little tiger in the middle of the bed, Hank immediately rolled over and grabbed on to his mom. Booth smiled; his son was truly a momma’s boy, but he couldn’t blame him. Brennan held her son close and ran her fingers through his mop of auburn curls singing softly to rock him back to sleep. Though he had every intention of staying awake to ensure his son and wife were okay, Brennan’s soft hums slowly lulled him to sleep also. 

That morning, the parents woke to not only their son in bed with them but with Christine curled up at the foot of the bed, her purple and green knitted blanket draped over her and her head on Booth’s calves and her feet stretched up that the rested on top of Brennan’s hips. Brennan had felt significantly better when she woke that morning and had indeed spent the week thinking through her options. She had no intention of leaving Shannon to fend for herself right now, not when she was in a position to help, but how was what she was trying to figure out and to figure out what Shannon wanted and needed. 

She found herself in the laundry room thinking about all of that mindlessly unloading the whites from the washer and then into the dryer. She was so preoccupied; she didn’t hear Booth walk in. He stood by the door watching her mull around until he cleared his throat. 

“Oh! Hi sweetie.” The words out of her mouth before she could question them. 

“Sweetie?” Booth chuckled. “You’ve never called me that before.” 

Red painted Brennan’s face and chest. She was so nervous at the nickname slip she dropped the shirt she had in her hands. “Oh…umm… so-sorry. It just came out.” 

“Hey, don’t be.” Booth walked over picked up the shirt and rolled it up shooting it into the washer like a basketball. He spun around snaked a hand around Bren’s waist pulling her close. 

“I like it.” He murmured against her temple. 

Brennan laughed pulling away so she could finish loading the laundry before she had to resume her job of ‘at-home-teacher’. Seriously, she could not wait until summer break and she and her kids could get a break from this online school thing. Booth sat down on the little stepping stool and watched her work. He had always loved when she wasn’t wearing her ‘Dr. Temperance Brennan’ hat and was simply Temperance Brennan. He swore that the woman made mundane tasks look flawless. She was wearing a simple gray sweatshirt, the ac making the house a little chilly, and a pair of sports shorts. Her feet bare, face makeup-free, and hair up in a messy ponytail. She was quietly humming to herself almost forgetting Booth was there again. 

“Have you thought about what to do for Shannon?” 

“I have been thinking about a possible solution but I’m not sure if it’ll work”

“What is it?”

Brennan sighed placing the last piece of clothing in the wash and started the cycle. She turned around leaning against the washer. She folded her arms over her chest. 

“How would you feel about having Shannon move in with us. At least until we can find a better solution… I mean she’s unemployed Booth, living alone, her parents have died, she has no other family. I…I know what that’s like. Not the unemployment part but being a vulnerable position like that. I remember wishing I had someone to take me in and look after me.” 

She stopped and took a breath before adding, “We can advise her to quarantine for the recommended fourteen days and take a test prior to traveling and after. She can meet the kids on a video call so they know her and well, we have that spare room Max used to use that we no longer really use. I can order some new bedding, and when she comes, we can help her arrange it to her liking… I know it might be for some time Booth, especially because no one knows what the hell is going on and-”

She stopped short catching her breath. Booth took this moment to step in. 

“Bones, hey, I think it is awestriking how much you care for Shannon. She is so lucky to have you in her life and I think it is a great idea to have her stay here. Am I worried about her safety traveling and whatnot, yeah a little but hey, when we love someone, we open ourselves up to little risks.” 

“Really? You-you wouldn’t mind her staying here? I know we got a full house with the kids and both of us home.” 

“Bones, baby, really. I am okay with it.” 

Brennan threw her arms around her husband and held him. He chucked holding her as close as he could. His wife truly did not get enough credit for her big heart. Booth pulled away suddenly remembering something. 

“Hey Bones, did you by chance throw out the extra wood from the treehouse?” 

“No… I believe it’s all still in the shed out back, why?” 

“Well, I was just thinking. You had told me that Shannon was an avid reader and had collected quite a number of books over the years. She might want to bring them with her, if she’s anything like you, she’ll have that personal connection with them. I’m not busy this week and so I could build her a mini bookshelf to have.” 

“Oh Booth…” Brennan thought she couldn’t love this man anymore. Here he was, agreeing to open their home to someone and had offered to work on something to help them feel more welcomed. Booth smiled kissing her forehead. He walked off to go find the blueprints he had somewhere on the bookshelf and to retrieve the supplies he’d need this week. Brennan stood there looking after her husband unsure of what she ever did to deserve a chance to spend the rest of her life with this man, but she thanked the universe, stars, and even the God she didn’t believe in for him. They’d been through so much together; chasing serial killers, being shot at, spending time dodging each other, running half-way across the world from each other, getting blown up together. You name it, they’d been through it and now they were living through a literal global pandemic. 

“Mommy!! I’m HUNGRY.” A little voice called her out of her thoughts. She chuckled; Hank though only five years old definitely had the appetite of a Booth man.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: It has been a month, I know and I am so sorry for not updating. Life got a little too demanding and I found it difficult to sit down and find time and inspiration to continue but I promise I won't let this fic die before I find a way to finish it. I'll keep it going for as long as I can because I truly think we need the moments of seeing our surrogate family together during these hard times. 
> 
> Okie so previously we saw Brennan come to a conclusion on how to help Shannon. Moving forward, we have to see her tell Shannon the good news, the video call to meet the kids, we have to head on back to Hodgins and Angela’s to find out more about little Katherine’s situation and then don’t think I forgot about Felicia and Cam and Michelle. Felicia has been in recovery, don’t worry. We also have to hear from Parker soon! Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this story and are reading, I am truly grateful for you. This may just be a filler but I'm jotting down some ideas to keep this story moving! Again, please leave a review, it would mean so much to me to hear from you and what you think!

Angela sat on the recliner in the backyard watching her daughter and son play a good old- fashioned game of catch. Katherine was a lot smaller than Michael Vincent and her little runs were more like little skips and hops to keep up but it looked like they were both having fun. Michael’s laughs were accompanied by Katherine’s squeals. Angela sighed contentedly. This is what happiness was, her children, happy, safe and spending time together. But even with the happiness she felt radiating from her, Angela couldn’t help but feel a sense of uneasy creep through her. It had been a couple weeks since their last visit to the doctor and there was still no update on what exactly was wrong with their little girl. The doctors were doubtful that it was LCA but they knew something was wrong. It was unnerving to her, knowing something was wrong with her child but there was nothing she could do to help her immediately.

“Come on Katie! I’m here! Catch me!” Michael encouraged her sister.

“Mickey!!!! Ha-ha! Ahhh!” Katherine squealed out until she crashed into her brother sending them both tumbling to the grass.

Hearing their little voices brought Angela out of her mental rabbit hole. She tried her best to focus on them but every time she saw her son help her daughter fix her little glasses, her heart panged. It shouldn’t be necessary for her to need them at such a young age, she shouldn’t have to be concerned with wearing glasses to aid her vision, Angela thought frustratedly. She found herself thinking back to when her little angel baby was born, the day her life changed, and she realized how fiercely and unconditionally she could love.

_She had spent the entire day home washing little yellow, peach and pink colored clothing, socks so small they fit on her pinky finger, butterfly print beanies and about twelve different knitted blankets. Hodgins had been called out to the lab to help with some particulates in a recent case, nothing too serious and he had promised he’d be back home in a few hours. Well, it had been a few hours and Angela had been growing a little restless. She was just a couple days shy of 39 weeks and was hoping that she wasn’t late like the last time. She hung clothes, rearranged clothes and unpacked and repacked her hospital bag until she would be considered herself crazy if she continued._

_Unable to sit around at home anymore, Angela picked up the phone and called her best friend._

_“Brennan.”_

_“Hey sweetie it’s me.”_

_“Angela, is it time? Are you in labor?”_

_“No. No. Not yet. Just bored.”_

_“Oh. I can understand. You’ve been home for quite some time without much to do or keep you busy.”_

_“Oh honey tell me about it, I just spent the past hour or so rearranging Katherine’s clothes.”_

_“Angela why would you want me to tell you about it if that’s what you’re doing right now.”_

_“No, it’s an expression sweetie, don’t worry.”_

_“Oh.”_

_“Yeah. So how have things been at the lab?”_

_“Slow but productive. I had Ms. Warren come in to help with the cleaning of the bones on this new case. Hodgins still hasn’t been able to decipher the particulates and give Booth a new lead.”_

_“You sure you don’t need my help?”_

_“No. The teeth were intact, so we were able to get an identity but as of right now, there’s not much else to go on.”_

_Angela could hear the exasperation in Brennan’s voice. She knew how much her friend hated it when cases weren’t moving along as efficiently as she would like. They continued on the conversation for a while, Angela getting up to the kitchen at one point to grab some of the chocolate covered almonds she’d taken a liking to a couple weeks ago. Brennan was in the middle of talking about something Christine and Hank had done when she heard her best friend squeal on the other side of the phone._

_“Angela! Ange! Are you okay?”_

_“I-I- Bren I need you to tell Hodgins to come home now.” Already on her feet walking briskly out of her office towards the Okeey Room, Brennan had a feeling things were about to get a little crazy._

_“Ange, are you?”_

_“Yes…” Angela whispered grabbing onto the counter._

_“Dr. B hey I was just about to-”_

_“Not now Dr. Hodgins. Angela is in labor and needs you to go home now.”_

_“What!? Is that her? Angie! I’m coming! Shit. Where are my keys!?”_

_“Dr. Hodgins! Calm down. You’re of no help to her if you’re foolishly frantic.”_

_“Ha-ha….ahhhhh Bren I need you here too. Okay? This baby is being born with her godmother at the hospital too…ahhhh… in fact… her.. whole…. Ahhhhh JACKKKK HURRRYYY!” her voice loud enough it could be heard without putting the phone on speaker._

_The next couple hours had been a blur. Between Hodgins racing home to get to Angela, Brennan calling Booth asking him to meet her at the hospital and getting Aubrey to pick up the kids and keep them at the Hoover. The labor had been harder than Michael Vincent’s and had taken a lot out of Angela. Emotionally and physically, she was spent but it had all come together and paid off when they placed the little bundle in her arms. Her head full of hair, small features and beautiful face. Angela was in love. The doctors had warned the new parents that though they did not detect the sign of LCA in the little girl, they still saw something and wanted to monitor just to be sure. To Angela and Jack, it didn’t phase them immediately._

_They knew they’d get through whatever complications they faced and would love their angel baby. When Jack got paralyzed, they had dismissed the thought of ever getting pregnant again, the complications surrounding his recovery and the strain it put on their marriage too much to bear but they worked through it and after a few adventures involving his wheelchair, they had been pleasantly surprised and when the baby survived Angela being thrown against a wall when the Jeffersonian had exploded, she and Jack had taken to referring to the baby in her womb as their ‘angel baby’. The miracle they didn’t know they needed._

“Hey, you doing okay?” Hodgins rolled over to be next to his wife.

“Yeah, yeah just thinking about the kids. About our little angel.”

“She’s going to fine Angie. The doctors have all confirmed that it isn’t LCA and might just be a normal vision condition. Hey, one of them even said she might grow out of her need for glasses.”

Nodding Angela agreed. They continued to sit in silence watching their kids run around and play. Angela grabbed a hold of Hodgin’s right hand and held it hers. Deep down, she knew they’d be okay. They’d survive whatever it was that was wrong but she just hopped they’d find out sooner rather than later. The couple sat outside for a little longer, their conversation filled with dreams of going back to Paris one day with the kids and spending some time there once the chaos in the world settled down, plans on how to keep the kids entertained and making mental notes to set up a zoom playdate for Michael Vincent with Christine. They knew how much their son missed his best friend and wanted to do what they could to keep their little friendship intact. Hodgins even suggested that they go ahead and schedule another doctor’s appointment with the specialist as a checkup to see if there would be anything worth detecting.

At one point, Angela had gone inside to grab some water and snacks for the kids while they stayed by their Dad on the porch cooling off a bit. Michael sitting on the ground by his Dad’s feet and Katherine in his lap. All in all, it was a lazy day and Angela was content to just be with her family. With everything going on the world and the news becoming a little more depressing every day, she was grateful for her family’s health and that they were alive. They had survived so much – she and Hodgins- specifically throughout the years and especially three years ago when they had almost been blown to bits inside their second home and sanctuary.

  
They were alive and to Angela, in that moment as she watched her kids resume a final round of Marco-Polo before bath and dinner time, held her husband’s hand in hers and as the sky melted away with bold golden and orange and pink streaks, she finally managed to push away the nagging ‘what-ifs’.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Two updates in a row, wow, who am I? hahaha don’t worry I’m trying to make up for my lack of activity the past month. I also went off with this one :) Can’t promise how often they’ll come after this one but just know I’m thinking of you and this story okay? Please leave me a comment/review so I know you’re out there reading! Okay so, let’s go back to Brennan and Booth’s for that video call with Shannon. 
> 
> Disclaimer: Original Bones characters/anyone you recognize from the show, not mine but Shannon is!

It was early. Too early for the kids to be awake and early enough that Booth was still in bed getting some much-needed rest especially for his back after his and his wife’s night last night. Brennan sat at the kitchen island twiddling her thumbs, something she never did which was a sign of how anxious she was feeling. Logically, she knew that what she was offering Shannon was good and that Shannon had no immediate reason to decline but still she kept thinking about the what ifs of her possibly overstepping.

Brennan had never been one to pick up on social cues, she spent most her life a little socially awkward and oftentimes when she meant no harm by her observations or verbalizations, people had taken offence and in turn resorted to calling her ‘cold’ or ‘aloof’. Highschool was the worst and after aging out of the system and spending most her time studying and pulled back from deep emotional investments with people. Even though she learned to tune it out when it happened, it still bothered her.

But when she met Booth, he had come to learn her quirks and found her fascinating. Throughout the years that she had been married to him, she learned to pick up on certain social cues and had even learned more of the common colloquialisms. Despite how far she had come, he told her time and time again that he loved her wholeheartedly, the whole package, quirks and all. _"Bones, don't ever think you have to change for me okay? I love you the way you are."_ But still, insecurities had a way of popping up right when she didn’t want them to, they had a knack for besting even the most thought-out plans and intentions and they oftentimes left physical reactions that weren’t all too pleasant.

Many of those physical reactions plagued her now and she chastised herself for feeling this way, but the truth was that she was reacting this way because she loved Shannon and wanted the best for her. She wanted Shannon to know that she wasn’t alone and that she would always be there for her. It wasn’t in Temperance Brennan’s nature to abandon her loved ones. However, she still had no idea what Shannon’s response would be or if she would overwhelm the girl. Before Brennan could second guess her idea again, the laptop screen lit up letting her know Shannon was joining the call. Taking a deep breath, Brennan decided it was now or never.

“Hey Tempe!” Shannon beamed.

“Hi sweetheart, how are you?”

“Umm, I’m alive I guess…”

“You guess? You’re taking to me right now so by all means I would conclude you are alive.”

Chuckling Shannon nodded; she had missed Tempe’s literalness. “I know Tempe, I know. I guess what I mean to say is I don’t know how I feel. I feel numb, I feel emotionally and mentally spent.”

“I’m sorry you’re feeling that way. Do you want to talk about it?”

Brennan spent the next couple of minutes listening attentively to what Shannon was telling her only interrupting to ask her to clarify something or elaborate a little more. By the time she was done, both women had tears in their eyes. Shannon had been through a lot more than Brennan was expecting since their last call. She had had to deal with transferring the home to her name which had of course upset some extended since Shannon was only ‘adopted’ but her adoptive parents had long since changed their will to accommodate their daughter leaving everything to her. She had managed to get in contact with a distant cousin living in California who agreed to swing by the house every so often to make sure it was upkept. Her job had still been nonexistent and while she had managed to start her own blog and monetized it pretty quickly, it still was not cutting it and her parents had not left her much to live on for an extended period of time.

Shannon had told Brennan that she felt like her world was crashing down around her and she had no idea what to do or how to even move forward. That’s when Brennan jumped in.

“Sweetheart, I have been thinking and I think I’ve found a way to help. That is if you want. Let me tell you the whole plan and then you tell me what you think okay?”

“Okay.”

“I want you to come live with me and my family. While I understand that we have no idea when this will all be over or when your job will rehire you and you’ll be able to receive steady income again, I don’t want you to be alone during that time. You’ve been through a lot, Shannon and you shouldn’t be trying to navigate it alone, not when you have people who love you and are willing to help you. I’ve talked to Booth and we agreed to turn our spare room into yours and get it ready for you. He’s in agreement with letting you be here, and I’m sure the kids will be happy to have someone new around. The only thing you would need to do is pack up what you want or would need for an extended period of time and then quarantine the recommended number of days just to be safe, we’ll do so as well and then you can drive down or fly down.”

Shannon sat there awestruck unable to comprehend what was happening. The woman who had saved her life and still felt so much like a second Mom was opening her home to her. Her and her husband were willing to let someone who was practically a stranger into their home for who knew how long.

“Tempe I-I… I don’t know what to say…”

“You don’t have to accept right away. I know it’s a lot to take in but promise me you’ll consider-”

“Yes! Yes, I accept please! Oh Tempe, please!”

Laughing, Brennan nodded. After confirming that Shannon didn’t need more time to think things over and Shannon double and triple checking that it was okay with Brennan and her husband that their home be open to her, plans were made for travel, for another call to meet the kids and Booth when they were all awake. Shannon could feel the hope stirring in her again. It had been so long since that feeling had graced her to the point where she even decided that it was no longer hers to experience. After her parents died about five months ago, life had become this bubble she had no actual concept of anymore. Shannon had felt as though she were living in someone else’s body or trapped on the outside as she watched her own life play out.

Living in New York while her parents were in California during the pandemic didn’t allow for Shannon to visit her parents and while she called as often as she could, it was never the same as seeing them, hugging them or telling them to their faces how much she loved them and how much it still meant to her that they chose her to save, to bring into their family. Then she had gotten that phone call later in the week from the hospital saying her parents were in critical condition and they were doing everything they could. But she couldn’t speak to them, she couldn’t see them. Their condition had been too bad and before Shannon could get a grip and prepare herself for what that could mean, she had gotten the second phone call. Her nightmare come to life and she didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye one last time. Her only solace was that they had passed away together, with each other. That neither of them was alone. But, she was.

No one to lean on, no lover or partner to call, Shannon had shouldered it all on her own until Tempe’s email graced her inbox. It had been a saving grace, one that she would forever call godsent. She had been at her last. Her thoughts getting the best of her, her mind dragging her to places she’d rather not revisit. Trying every morning to pull herself out of bed and make herself work, to do things, force herself to keep doing the mundane basic tasks as a way to let her body know it was still alive. She did what was necessary, needed at the moment and found it exhausting trying to do anything else. She didn’t want to anymore. But for the second time in her life, Tempe had pulled her out, had stepped in giving her hope where she desperately needed it and in turn, had given her the strength to hold on a little longer.

“Are you going to be okay driving down on your own sweetheart?”

“Yeah of course. It shouldn’t be too long a drive and I’d feel more comfortable being in my car rather than on a plane. Granted I’m going to have to get it looked at to make sure it’s okay; I haven’t driven it in some time.”

“Well, let me know if you do need someone to drive down to come and get you.”

“I will Tempe, thanks.”

“Of course.”

Brennan stayed online and asked Shannon about her aesthetic choices and styles, what color paint would she want them to paint the room, the style of duvet, the pillows. If there were any furniture items that she’d want to have shipped the house. And before Shannon could protest that all the fuss was not necessary and that she’d be more than happy with just being able to stay with them, Brennan punctuated her questions with, “Shannon, you’ll be here for I don’t know how long. It’d be so much better for you if the space could be called your own. We want you to feel welcome. You also have these side projects you’ve been working on with your writing and believe me, having a space to do that, one that is conducive to your inspiration and mental stimulation is necessary. Booth has even offered to work on building you a bookshelf for all your books.”

With glossy eyes, Shannon nodded and accepted the indulgence Brennan was giving her. Still, she felt unworthy of it all and her insecurities got the best of her.

“Tempe, I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you for any of this. It’s a lot and I’m grateful don’t get me wrong but why?”

Brennan responded with the simplest yet most impactful thing she could have said. “Because I love you and I want you to know that you are not alone.” Letting the tears roll down her face Shannon felt hopeful and responsive, a little bit more in control than before. The bubble was slowly deflating. And as the conversation continued, little anecdotes of what they’d been up to in the years shared, Booth had found his way outside and Shannon got the chance to meet than man who would become a second father figure in her life.

“Thank you again Mr. Booth.”

“Please Shannon, just call me Booth and seriously, anything we can do to help to make things a little easier for you.”

“Booth is right Shannon. I care a great deal for you and love you, our home is your home.”

Shannon smiled and in that moment as Booth came back after briefly walking away to grab coffee for him and Brennan and wrapped his arm around her from behind resting his chin on her head, joining their conversation, Shannon let herself relish in the fact that such a loving couple was willing to invite her into their home. She would no longer spend nights alone in her apartment only catching up with the few friends she had over IM.

In a couple weeks, she’d be around people, loving people and people who wanted her there. She would have someone who knew her, who knew her story and who was always there when she needed someone to turn to. And as she wrapped up her conversation with Brennan and Booth, finalized plans, Shannon smiled, truly smiled for the first time in a long time and she felt happy. The weight of what had been going on in the world had weighed her down so much, she had lost so much because of it but right now, she had so much more to gain and as they said their goodbyes, she held on to one of the final things she heard Booth say: _“at the end of the day Shannon, there’s more than one kind of family."_


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, we’re gonna jump ahead a couple of days into Shannon and the Brennan-Booth’s quarantine. I’m trying to gauge the timeline and see if I can catch this story up to where we are right now in present day reality or if I just wanna take things and see how it goes. Lemme know what you think in the comments! Also, this is probably one the longest chapters I've posted so far. ENJOY!!
> 
> Disclaimer: Original Bones characters aren’t mine; I’m just borrowing them for this story and Shannon is my OC.

A couple days had passed since Brennan and Shannon’s phone call when Brennan opened her home to Shannon and the second one where she had met the kids. Christine and Hank were excited that they’d be getting a new friend and Christine was over the top about the concept of Shannon being like her older sister. Hank on the other was glad that someone else would be there to help him build all the Lego models that he had been accumulating- mostly because of Brennan’s indulgence to the concept that the building blocks could be used to further develop her son’s fine motor skills. When Shannon was adopted, it had only been her and her parents, so she had no idea what it was like to have siblings and though Christine and Hank were still little kids and the age gap between her and them was big, she was more than excited to be around them.

She was curious and looking forward to ‘pirate snack time’ because at Christine’s insistence, it had to happen. _“But mommy, when Shana comes we have to pirate snack time with her! It’s fun. Have you had pirate snack time before Shana?”_ Shannon couldn’t help but loving Tempe’s daughter already. The nickname growing on her and she agreed that she had not had pirate snack time before and to herself that the chance to be a little carefree and childlike again was tempting.

Now, with only three days left in her quarantine time, she stood in the middle of her apartment, boxes mostly packed up and ready to be going to storage. The ones she’d be taking with her in her bedroom still open for the last-minute items she had found and wanted to take with her. Cleaning out her apartment hadn’t been difficult, or a very sentimental process given she had only just recently began living there for more than three weeks at a time but she was still touched by the things she had found and the memories that really tugged at her heart strings.

Thinking about it, after moving out of her parent’s home she had never truly had a place to call home. Sure, she had lived in houses, apartments, flats and even tents during her time as a travel writer but her time at each had been limited, it made no sense for any of them to be called home. Would living at Tempe’s be like home? How long does it need to be for it to feel like home?

Shaking the questions out of her head, Shannon walked into her bathroom and grabbed her record player to pack it in the boxes to take to Tempe’s. She wondered if she’d be able to have her weekly bath jam sessions again. Would even need that escape again? So much of her life was changing and had changed in the past five months and since this madness started in March. It was now the end of September, October would be starting soon and if she were honest with herself, she was still processing that week in March.

She had just covered probably one of the biggest stories of her life and had returned from South America to New York. Adrenaline and excitement kept her going in place of the proper three meals a day along with a thermos of coffee every day. Not to mention the quart of kool-aid and energy drink mix she had concocted. Meetings at the headquarters, with editors and the graphics team. Shannon had seen it all come together and when the story about the South American tourism industry had gone live detailing travel, culture, lifestyle, economy, the works in three of the continent’s countries, she was proud.

Nights spent in the villages, bus hopping across the borders and restless interviewing had all come together and though she didn’t want to be boastful, she was hopeful that her endeavors would mean a raise for her. Her managers and publishers had already been talking about it weeks before. But that morning as she walked into the studio, eyes heavy and dark circles etched into her skin because of the lack of sleep and 80 hours she had stayed awake to ensure everything was perfect when the final piece was published, she couldn’t believe the notice she had been given.

_“Shannon, we’re sorry. We just got the news ourselves and we had no choice to cutback 50% of the staff. We tried keeping certain departments but with the pandemic and cross border shut-downs, travel was one of them that had to go. We’re so sorry. Your last paycheck and benefits will be in your account by the end of the month.”_ Eyes that had been heavy with sleep stood open on alert. She wanted to scream. She tried reasoning with them saying that she could do special feature pieces in relation to the pandemic, she wouldn’t mind working with another department.

Her attempts were in vain and though everything about what was being decided and told to her made sense, it still didn’t. Time had helped her come to terms with it but she still replayed it over and over in her head and she still couldn’t wrap her head around it. It was fast, too fast for her to prepare for it and she had just felt so numb and scared afterwards that she had never given herself enough of a chance to sit down and deal with the emotional and mental aftermath of it.

Stop. She told herself. This was time for a new journey, a new start in some ways. She saw no need for her to carry everything that she had been holding on to here with her. Sighing, she plopped down in the middle of her XL Twin sized bed. Boxes strewn all around the floor, her hair in a messy bun, bags still gracing under her eyes- further evidence that sleep had really not been her friend in the past couple of months.

Shannon reached over and lifted the picture frames that sat on her bedside table. In the one she held in her left hand, it was a family picture, her and her parents at her college graduation. It had been such a momentous day and one that she had dedicated to her parents along with her degree. In the other hand, the picture of her and Tempe the day before she had left the home. Family. A new home. Another chance given to her by the same woman who saved her all those years ago. She closed her eyes and offered up a sign of thanks to the gods, the universe, anybody who would hear and accept her gratitude.

\----

The buzz of emotion radiating from Brennan was palpable; she had been up since dawn. With Shannon’s arrival only three days away, she wanted the home to be perfect and she wanted to make sure her room was completely ready. Shannon had told Brennan that they could keep the room painted whatever color it was already and that if she was insistence on buying new bedding, a plain, simple and clean look would be fine. Nothing too dark or overly printed.

Brennan had spent hours going through different websites and online shops trying to find one that would work. She had even reached out to Angela who had spent a good chunk of the conversation squealing about meeting Shannon and how excited she was that their family was growing and something about Brennan’s totally not cold heart.

_“Booth and I aren’t going to formally adopt her Ange. She’s already an adult.”_

_“Oh, I know sweetie but she’s still a part of the family.”_

_“Of course, Ange, I can’t ever imagine her not.”_

_“Exactly! Which is why our unconventional family just got a little bigger!”_

She had finally settled on an off-white set with grey and navy accents. The furniture in the room being dark oak so it all complimented each other nicely. Booth had been working dutifully on the bookshelf and the only thing left was to varnish it. Brennan walked into the room opening the window slightly to let a little bit of fresh air in.

The weather had started cooling down now that October was coming but it wasn’t completely cold to the point of keeping the windows shut and the heater on blast yet. She checked the little succulents she had bought at the grocery store again and once she decided everything was okay, she set out to the kitchen to restock and reorganize the pantry and what not.

Last week she had bulk ordered some non-perishable grocery items along with some general house keeping supplies and with shipping being delayed a bit, they had only just been delivered yesterday. Which meant that Brennan spent some time disinfecting everything in the garage before bringing them into the house. She got so invested in her task that she didn’t hear Booth come in.

“Bones, you okay? Why are you up so early?”

“Yes. I’m fine Booth.”

“Why are you up so early? It’s only 6 am?”

“Why are you up?”

“Wait, I asked you first. You can’t answer with a question. Cardinal rule number one Bones.”

“Booth-” Brennan paused and turned around to find her husband smirking at her, a playful glint in his eyes. The years had caught up to him and there were now wrinkles at the corner of his eyes and though he would not admit it, she had noticed a few gray hairs. But to her, he never looked better standing there with his uncut bed hair, his old blue robe tied loosely around him and the Santa Claus house slippers Christine had gotten him a few Christmases ago. It was such a ‘Boothy’ sight, one she always relished witnessing.

“You’re playing with me, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Yes.” He chuckled moving to where she was standing stepping over groceries and bags.

He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her in for a hug. Without her shoes on standing bare feet, she was a few inches shorter than him and made it easy for her to tuck her head under his chin. His arms went around her holding her tight. There were many moments that Booth enjoyed with his wife but out of all of them, the one he was most grateful for was this one. The first hug in the morning. Right before the rest of the world woke up, before their kids woke up, before they had to go and be parents, or professionals in their respective fields.

The moment when they were just Temperance and Seeley, husband and wife. Partners in life. The moment he could hold her and physically wrap her in his love. They had been through so much together over the decade and the fact that he could hold her, cradle her head to his chest and bury his nose in her hair and lose himself in her filled him with happiness and peace words would fail to capture. She was his comfort, in the way she smelt, the way her skin was soft against his and the way she felt wrapped in his embrace. Temperance Brennan was his home.

“I woke up to go the bathroom and you weren’t there in the bed. I missed you.”

“Oh Booth… I just want everything to be perfect for Shannon when she comes.”

“And it will baby. You’ve done everything you could to prepare and to help Shannon feel comfortable when she comes.”

“You really think she’ll like it?”

“Yes. I do. And not just because it’s ‘perfect’. She’ll love it because she’ll see the effort you put forward and because it will come from you.”

Brennan smiled looking up at her husband. He lifted his hand from around her waist and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. As they had done a million times before, they held each other’s gaze and spoke a million words all while saying nothing. They didn’t know who leaned in first but their lips connected and everything else ceased to exist. Soft and gentle, they kissed with no sense of urgency, his tongue swept across her bottom lip and she opened herself to him. A dance they had become attuned to. Pulling away she rested her head back on his chest and let him hold her a little more.

“Come on.” He whispered. “Let’s make some coffee and I’ll help you putting the rest of these away.”

“Okay. You’re going to varnish the shelf, today right?”

“Yes Bones. I will, don’t worry.” He chuckled.

Coffee made and a couple minutes later, the groceries had been packed away and Brennan was now going through the pile of homework worksheets for her kids while Booth had gone to change so he could move out to the garage and begin varnishing the shelf. As she placed them in more specific piles, she couldn’t help but count down the days until her kids were on Christmas break. She had indeed gone ahead and emailed the school asking why it was they were piling on more homework than cutting back.

She raised the concern of kids become more burnt out and that was not healthy or beneficial to them in the long run. They could still learn and follow the curriculum without the unnecessary overloading. The school administration had listened to her – because really who could ignore a request and complaint filed by the Dr. Temperance Brennan who also happened to be one of the school’s biggest donors- and the work had been cut down.

Squinting at the math worksheet in her hand, Brennan sighed and walked over to the couch to grab her glasses. She had never needed them before. Her eyesight having always been perfect, but she figured that years of squinting at bones and reading and working on paperwork and just doing all things Temperance Brennan had caught up to her. Pulling them on, she continued to sort through the papers making notes about what the kids needed to do and by when it needed to get done.

“Bones, do you know where the big paintbrush roller is?”

“Isn’t it in the shed out back Booth?”

“I thought so but when I checked I--- woah oh oh BONES!”

Startled by his outburst, Brennan lifted her head and looked at her husband expectantly. Booth stood there gaping at his wife, all sense of how to form a coherent sentence gone out the window. He stood staring at his wife in absolute wonder and awe. She had the cutest pair of eyeglasses on that just seemed sinfully beautiful to him. Her short hair falling to her shoulders slightly graying at the roots and she had on a loose blouse, gray joggers and oversized cardigan. God, she was beautiful.

“Booth?”

“I umm… baby… Bones you. Wow. You look. Wow. Simply wow Bones.” He stuttered smiling.

Chuckling, Brennan smiled softly at him shaking her head. She knew all too well about Booth and glasses and she couldn’t decide if she wanted to entertain it now or later. Hearing the little voices float down the hallway, she figured it’d have to be later.

“If you can finish with the varnishing today, maybe I’ll reward you later. Glasses included.” She winked at him and hopped off the barstool she was at to go prepare a little brunch treat for her two children who miraculously stayed in bed until 10 am today.

“Oh ho ho, looking forward to that babe.” Booth grinned his famous charm smile at her and went back outside, extra motivated to find that paint roller and get his task done. Throwing her head back laughing, she watched Booth stumble back outside still star-struck bumping into everything he could possibly could.

“Mommy why is Daddy so clumsy today?” Christine asked as she came to stand by Brennan’s side wrapping her arms around her Mom’s hips.

“I think Daddy just got something in eye sweetheart. Now, what do the two of you want to eat?”

“Can we have cheesy eggs and toast please?” Hank muttered as he tried to lift himself into the barstool Brennan was just sitting at a moment ago.

“Cheesy eggs and toast it is! Oh, Hank baby c’mere.” Brennan rounded to corner grabbing Hank and placing him on the counter. And as usual, Christine helped her Mom in the kitchen. Brennan let her thoughts wonder to Shannon thinking about how it would be when she got here. How much more different would their routines be, would it even change at all? Well, she’d soon find out.


End file.
